


The Lily Thieves

by arysthaeniru



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Forced Prostitution, M/M, Slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-05
Updated: 2014-09-05
Packaged: 2018-02-16 05:21:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 21,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2257341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arysthaeniru/pseuds/arysthaeniru
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tezuka and Sanada are knights of the country and King. While robbery isn't their usual sort of job, this is no ordinary robbery.</p>
<p>Written for <a href="http://tenipuri-xpair.livejournal.com/"> tenipuri xpair exchange 2014</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. ಠ_ಠ

**Author's Note:**

> Thank so much to my beta who told me when I was a fool and to all the people who helped me with characterization of people I’ve never attempted before.

The rain outside was blowing against the stained glass windows quite impressively. It made all sorts of threatening sounds, and that was one of the main reasons that Tezuka wished that he wasn’t in the waiting room to speak with the King. The other was that waiting for the King always made Tezuka feel like a small child, about to be reprimanded for doing something wrong. He hadn’t done anything wrong, so he had nothing to feel guilty for, but it was a lingering sensation that wouldn’t leave him. 

He turned to glance at Sanada, who looked a lot more at home in the noble clothing and the formal way of sitting. Of course, Sanada’s family had a long line of association with nobility, while Tezuka’s grandfather had been the first of their line to meet the King in person, for acts of valiance for the country. It made sense, but Tezuka envied how comfortable in his own skin Sanada seemed, sometimes. 

Sanada caught his glance and pulled a face. Despite Tezuka's perpetual poker face, Sanada could usually catch his emotions, probably because Sanada's older brother had the same sort of poker face as Tezuka. "As much as I admire his majesty's thoroughness with everyone he meets, waiting is quite tedious." He looked rather disgruntled and Tezuka was about to reply, until the deceptively meek Irie peeked in through the waiting room door. 

"Ah, you're both here. The king will see you now." said Irie, cheerfully. "He looks mad, I'd be cautious."

Tezuka just nodded. Irie liked to lie and make the people waiting for the king nervous, so he could see their reaction. Tezuka wasn't sure why King Yamato hadn't fired him, but he wasn't the king. There was probably some reason. Something about testing the mettle of all newcomers. 

"Just to check, Tezuka, you didn't kill the crown prince in annoyance? " asked Sanada lowly, as they adjusted their capes and walked in. Tezuka pursed his lips, in response. He found Prince Horio annoying to tutor, but not enough to kill.

King Yamato sat upon the throne imperiously, but upon seeing Sanada and Tezuka, he smiled. "Knights, it is good to see you. I have a task of utmost importance for you."

Was...was Yamato not speaking in riddles? Tezuka wished there was a way he could capture this moment and keep it forever to replay, over and over. He was sick to the teeth of cryptic riddles about the state of his swordplay or a comment on the weather meaning that he was wearing his cape indoors. 

Sanada nodded as they both knelt down in front of his throne.

“The breeze sweeps through the protectorate of the mountains. Those that glitter are whisked away, and in their place, magnificent beauty is left.” said Yamato and Tezuka had to suppress the twitch in his eyebrow. Would it kill Yamato to not make everything a riddle or some kind of life lesson? 

Still, at least Sanada seemed just as confused as Tezuka and tossed him a quizzical look. Tezuka shook his head, imperceptibly. They’d figure out it afterwards.

“And what would you have us do about it, sir?” asked Sanada, lowly. 

“Find the breeze and stop it’s progress, immediately. Return the fickle gifts to those who treasure them above all else.” said Yamato. “And quickly, before the breeze turns into a gale.”

“Yes, my lord.” said Tezuka, with a nod. Breeze were people, these gifts were probably stolen, so then the breeze was a thief? And magnificent beauty left in their place? He wasn’t sure. Maybe Sanada had an idea. “As fast as we can.”

Yamato smiled, benevolently. “Take a few days off to finish this. You will not be required to continue your normal knight duties.” But of course, he and Sanada would do them anyway, that was just how it worked. Especially the training and the cleaning, because without them, it was unlikely the other knights would muster the discipline to do so. 

“Yes, my lord.” he and Sanada said in unison and Yamato dismissed them. Unusually quick for Yamato’s usual meetings, but Tezuka couldn’t help but be grateful. The moment that they had backed out of the room, Sanada’s frown became very prominent. “Magnificent Beauty...that’s a calla lily.”

Tezuka blinked. “Pardon?” he asked. He _had_ hoped that Sanada had possessed a clue, but Calla Lily was quite accurate. He adjusted his spectacles and waited for Sanada to elaborate. 

“Breeze are thieves, all that glitter are jewels and the people who care about jewels too much are the nobles. Didn’t you hear Oshitari complaining about it yesterday? His family’s estate was the fifth to be robbed.” said Sanada, “The King wants us to find the Lily Thieves.”

The Lily Thieves...Tezuka thought he remembered Atobe whispering about it to Inui during training, but he paid very little attention to anything but himself during training, so he wasn’t sure. “Details?” he asked, as he unclipped his cape and slung it over his arm. 

Sanada nodded as he followed suit. “According to Oshitari, six nobles have been robbed of their most precious jewellery, over consecutive nights. Whatever they like to show off at parties, to show how rich they are..” He stopped to pull a face at Tezuka and Tezuka could only silently agree. Arrogance was not a desired trait in anybody. “The doors are locked in the morning, and there’s never any sign of break-in. The only sign that something happened is a single black calla lily left right outside the area where the jewel is stored.”

“An inside-job?” asked Tezuka, as they wandered out to the battlements on the way back to their shared dorm. 

Sanada shook his head as he stopped and looked out across the land. “To six different places? I don’t think so. They are just good at getting in and out.”

“What makes you think it’s a small group of people?” Tezuka asked, playing devil’s advocate. He too thought it was a smaller group, but he liked to know Sanada’s reasoning. “For all we know, it could be a huge group, with a servant in each house to steal the jewels.”

Sanada frowned. “The actions of the thieves are as arrogant as the nobles they steal from. The lily doesn’t need to be there, they could have a virtually undetected robbery. People would just blame the servants for misplacing the jewels or losing the jewels. But they leave the lily there, as a sign of pride. If it was a large organization, they wouldn’t be so obvious. There would be at least one person to say that it’s a stupid idea. Not to mention, the robbery is done exactly the same way, every time. A large organization wouldn’t be able to assure that neatness with every thief.”

Tezuka nodded. The unsaid was that Sanada recognized the action as something he would probably do. They both knew Sanada’s pride was something they fought against. 

“Then as I see it, there are two places to start investigation from.” said Tezuka, as he adjusted his glasses and pushed back his hair, from the ways that the wind was blowing them. “Look into who has been selling black calla lilies and follow up those people. The other, is to try and figure out if there’s a pattern between the houses getting robbed and lie in wait at the house most likely to next get robbed.”

Sanada nodded, as he placed a hand over his face. “I’ll take the second task, more nobles are willing to talk to me. I’ll take Atobe with me, he’ll make up for the five people that hate my guts.” he said, with a slightly strangled expression. Tezuka’s mouth twitched at the side; he knew how much Sanada hated Atobe and it never failed to amuse him. 

“Are you sure you won’t kill him by accident?” he asked, mirroring Sanada’s question from before. 

Sanada glared at him and punched him in the side, lightly. “As if. I’d ruin their carpets and then they won’t tell me a thing.”

Tezuka couldn’t stop a slight smirk touching his face. “Right. I’ll take the first task. I think I know how to find it out.” Technically, this person and his information was just a little illegal. But, the person didn’t hurt people, he just didn’t license his business properly. “You might want to drop by Inui to see if he can see any connections before you go interviewing people.”

Sanada nodded, as they finally straightened and started the walk back to their dorm room, passing the various rooms of other knights and servants in the East Bunk. “I’ll do that. Shall we meet at the Dragon Inn tonight, then?”

Tezuka manoeuvred past the large procession of morning servants rushing to their jobs, with a slight grimace, and pulled Sanada with him. By this time usually, they were already training, he wasn’t used to this influx of population. 

He nodded grimly, as they finally pushed the door to their room open; the Dragon Inn was fairly close to the castle. “Do you think we will be able to stop the robbery tonight?” he asked, as he stripped off his fine clothing and switched to something more appropriate for the street. Sanada, on the other hand, was switching to something even more formal and difficult to move around in. 

Sanada paused, halfway between putting on his shirt, and turned around to face Tezuka. Tezuka always felt a little awkward when they were changing together, but Sanada never seemed to have that problem. “Probably not.” said Sanada, as he pulled his shirt on and started buttoning up the front. “But we should try, as is our duty.”

Tezuka just nodded, as he folded his clothes neatly as tucked them into his closet. He took out a dark, plain cape and hooked a plainer sword than his usual fare, to his cape. He looked much less like a knight, and more like a mercenary. Better. 

Sanada eyed Tezuka’s clothing with something that might have been worry. He clapped his hand on Tezuka’s back. “...Look after yourself.” he said, squeezing Tezuka’s shoulder. Their eyes met and Sanada looked like he was going to say something else. Tezuka waited, but Sanada looked away and let go of his grip on Tezuka. 

Tezuka was almost disappointed, but just nodded, in response. “You too, Sanada.” He flicked the cape over his head and left their shared room. 

(X)

Tezuka disliked how most unorthodox people decided that they wanted to conduct businesses in shady taverns. What was wrong with a library, or a garden? Somewhere where Tezuka’s reflexes didn’t feel like he was about to snap and lay the law down on a second’s notice, by arresting everybody in the tavern. With a slightly put-upon sigh, Tezuka took a seat near the corner and ordered a beer, to nurse over as he waited for his contact. It was the morning and it was far too early to drink, but he had to blend in, anyway. 

He had some time, since his contact wasn’t all too good with early mornings, so Tezuka had some time to think. 

Tezuka sort of disliked these times of rest. While he preferred the solace of his own thoughts, he also preferred working all the time, so he could prove himself as worthy of respect. Despite being heralded as the best fighter in the kingdom and known everywhere for his mature demeanour, he was still respected by very few. It irked him that their society was so classist. His family had fought their way up to the top, but they would never be fully respected and treated equally, because they were ‘new money’.

His parents pretended like it didn’t bother them, especially his mother who liked to see the good in every situation, but Tezuka saw how much it affected them. In comparison to Sanada, whose family were old money, but worked just as hard as Tezuka, it was unfair. There were very few families that wouldn’t treat Sanada with the respect he demanded, yet there were slight sneers of derision and outright challenges everywhere that he went. 

The system meant that no matter how hard you worked, you could never fully be respected at the top. It disappointed Tezuka, and it was the reason for so much discontent in the kingdom. It wasn’t that Yamato was a bad King, since he treated all of his soldiers and people equally, no matter whether they were new or old, but his nobles were another story altogether. 

Tezuka was pulled out of his thoughts by a short figure in a large, black hood take a booth close to the entrance. He didn’t ask for anything to drink or eat, a sign that he was open for business. Tezuka decided to move fast, before half the tavern decided they wanted to make business with the famous mercenary. He signaled a waitress and asked them to bring some non-alcoholic cider for the table there. 

The waitress looked a little confused, but did as she was asked. When the short figure bent over to the waitress to ask who it was who’d sent the drinks, she pointed in Tezuka’s direction. Tezuka gave it a few minutes, before he got up and joined his contact at the booth. From under the cape, a pair of golden cat-eyes glared back at him. 

“Sir Tezuka.” said the voice of the child, Echizen. 

“I told you to not call me that.” said Tezuka, dully. He was in a disguise and they were in a shady bar, what part of that indicated it was a good idea for Echizen to call him by his title? “How have you been, Echizen?”

“Well as you can be.” said Echizen, nonchalantly. “You look tired.”

Tezuka didn’t answer, though it was true; a knight’s life wasn’t easy. Echizen stared at him for a bit longer, before taking a sip of his drink and scowling. “Che, you’re a cheapskate. No alcohol?”

“You’re a child.” said Tezuka, dryly. Echizen Nanjirou may have encouraged deviancy, but Tezuka didn’t think it was right. He was young enough to be Echizen Nanjirou’s son, yet, he still knew better than to use his family as gambling pieces, to win him extra points. 

Echizen nodded pensively, as he took another sip of the drink, with a slight scowl. “So. You must want something. You don’t do social trips. You calling in your favour, now or something?”

“Not really. I have a job for you. I’m looking for something.” said Tezuka, as he pulled out his coin purse and slid out two gold coins to Echizen. “Flower sellers who sell black calla lilies.”

Echizen’s eyes widened, before, he glanced down at the table. He shook his head and slid the coins back to Tezuka. “I can’t take that job.” he said, almost instantly. “You’re following the Lily Thieves.”

Tezuka frowned. He’d consulted Echizen three times after he and Sanada had rescued the young boy and his elder cousin from slavers, and every time, Echizen had taken just one day to track down anything he needed, without hesitating. Echizen was one of the best mercenaries, despite his age. If Echizen was turning this down....

“They are powerful, then? The thieves?” asked Tezuka. 

Echizen bit his lip and worried it. “You could say that.” he said, and his voice sounded like a child for a moment, instead of the cocky adult that he pretended to be, most of the time. 

“Then they are scary.” said Tezuka, finally. “They aren’t powerful, because there aren’t many of them, correct?”

Echizen was quiet as he took another sip from his drink, shifting in his chair, slightly. Tezuka sighed a little. Patience. “If I call in my favour and pay you...” He slid across three gold coins and two silver coins.

Echizen stared down at the money, his catlike eyes concentrated on the gleam of the money, before nodding and sweeping the money away. “Yeah. There aren’t many of them, at all.”

“Then the people who sell calla lilies...” said Tezuka, hesitantly. 

The young boy blinked, lazily. “I can only give you a list of flower sellers here. I don’t know who sells what.” He pulled out his pen and started writing on the napkin that came with his drink. Tezuka glared at Echizen. Echizen definitely had the resources to find out who sold black calla lilies. Tezuka had given him a lot of money and he’d called in his favour, which the knight had been saving for when he was desperate. Those two combined meant that Tezuka required more than this. 

Echizen finished writing the list and handed Tezuka the napkin, before summoning the waitress. “Hey, can I get three sweetmeats?” The waitress nodded and Tezuka tossed Echizen a quizzical look. Echizen _hated_ sweetmeats, with a passion, because of his dislike of fruit. So...

He glanced down at the list. Third on the list was a place called 201 Nursery. Was that where the thieves were getting the lilies from? Echizen just smiled, cryptically at Tezuka’s glance. “You can have the sweetmeats.” he said, as he adjusted his cape to cover his face entirely. “Because I’m nice like that.”

Tezuka just snorted, softly. “Thank you.” he said, stiffly. 

Echizen just clinked the money together, under the table, with a slightly incredulous expression. “I’m not altruistic. You don’t need to pretend like I am. Don’t die or I’ll be sad.”

Tezuka just shook his head as he stood up. “I’m not planning on dying, Echizen.” He pocketed the napkin and the sweetmeats as they were delivered and left the tavern, thinking about a direction in which to go. 

(X)

The first thing that Tezuka noticed about the flower nursery, at the edge of the city, was how idyllic it was. The flowers were everywhere, with sweet-smelling fragrances wafting through the air. Around them were green bushes and grasses and near the back, seemed to be fruits vegetables, and for some reason, cacti. It was easy to spot the black calla lilies amongst the colours. Almost no other plant was that shade of colour. Next to them were white roses and some sort of yellow plant.

Near the front of the whole nursery was a small house-like structure that spoke about orders and sales.

But Tezuka wasn’t interested in that. He looked around for an employee, and spotted a blond man, crouched down by a tall, thin, reedlike plant. “Hello.” he said, as he walked up to the man.

The blond man look up from his task and smiled apologetically at Tezuka. He wiped the sweat off his brow with his forearm, removed his gardening gloves and stood up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t notice you come in! You’re a lot quieter than our usual customers. My name’s Shiraishi, I’m on duty at the moment. How can I help you?” He held out his hand to shake and Tezuka took it.

Tezuka nodded stiffly. “It’s fine. I was here looking to buy some flowers for my mother.” White roses were customary for solemn, non-romantic occasions, weren’t they? “I heard that the roses here were good?”

Shiraishi’s face brightened as he started walking Tezuka over to the area that the black calla lilies were in. “Our roses are some of the best.” he extolled, with a huge smile. “If you’re looking for your mother, white roses are some of the better options. How many do you want?”

Tezuka looked at the roses almost ponderingly. “They’re beautiful. But only two or three. Not too many.” he said, finally, thinking both of his mother’s love of simplicity and his coin purse. 

“Not as beautiful as you.” was a small mutter from Shiraishi, and as Tezuka turned towards him, Shiraishi just smiled warmly, and innocently. “Three roses it is.”

Tezuka’s gaze slipped to the calla lilies naturally. “These are unusual...I didn’t know that you could get black flowers that aren’t dying.” he said, as he looked at them.

Shiraishi laughed, as he bent down to cut the fattest roses from the plants. “Ahh, yes. That’s because the lilies aren’t exactly black. They’re actually purple, but the purple hue is so deep, that it looks like it’s black. It’s quite misleading actually, but people like it.”

“Is it popular? You sell many of them?” asked Tezuka, almost casually. Out of the corner of his eyes, Shiraishi’s smile momentarily fell, to an expression of slight fear, before his sunny smile replaced it again. Threatened by the thieves to keep quiet? It seemed that way.

“You’d think so!” laughed Shiraishi, as he cut the last rose. “But we don’t sell that many since they don’t last so long. Only one or two nights. They’re more of a private pleasure. Myself and my coworkers like them.”

Tezuka paused, before softly smiling. “Perhaps I shall boost their popularity. May I have one purple lily?”

Shiraishi’s smile was more cautious than it had been, more clouded with judgement. “Of course you may!” he said, but that joy to greet Tezuka had vanished. Interesting. If he prodded any longer, Tezuka was sure that he wouldn’t get an answer, so Tezuka just nodded as the four flowers were bundled together and tied neatly with a ribbon. “That’ll be two silver coins and three bronze.” said Shiraishi, as Tezuka opened his coin purse. He had been right to buy less flowers, they were quite expensive. 

“Thank you for your time.” said Tezuka, as he left the garden. No doubt, Echizen had been right about this nursery. The thieves got their flowers from this place. That would be one interesting fact to tell Sanada and a lead in itself. The flowers at the scenes were fresh, which meant that the thieves had to reach the Farm every day. If they staked it out for one day....

Still, it was something less concrete and tedious work. He hoped that Sanada had been able to find something better. 

(X)

Sanada was already in the Dragon Inn when Tezuka reached there, a stony expression on his face as he glared down at his beer. Had...Sanada started drinking already? That wasn’t like his dorm-mate. 

“You found...?” asked Tezuka, as he slipped off the hood from his face. 

“Nothing.” said Sanada grimly. “Nothing concrete. I asked Inui what could link the houses, he couldn’t find anything that made any sense. They are all very close together inside the city, but this city is small, so that is already guaranteed. They are all rich and proud of it. They all have jewels. That describes every noble here. We live in the Capital City, everyone’s proud to be around the King.” 

Tezuka bit his tongue as Sanada talked, but as he wound down, Tezuka’s mouth twitched up, almost imperceptibly. “That is not the only reason you have already started drinking before sundown. How frustrating was Atobe?”

“Very.” said Sanada, gritting his teeth. “He kept distracting the nobles away from the questions I was asking and... _insinuating_ things.”

Tezuka was very tempted to ask what exactly Atobe was insinuating, but Sanada looked like he was going to kill something, so he refrained. “I made a little more progress than you did. I found the place where the thieves purchase the lilies. They also have to purchase the lilies, _daily_. However, the thieves have thoroughly intimidated the owners of the nursery. I’d have to build a rapport with the worker there to gain any progress about who they are.”

“So, we made no progress today.” said Sanada, with an irritated glance. “Wonderful.”

Tezuka nodded. “Peace. It was unrealistic to expect substantial progress immediately.”

Sanada gritted his teeth, before his eyes cleared a little. “I do know something new. All of the servants were asleep when it happened. The last servant sleeps at midnight on nights without parties and at three in the morning on days with parties. Since there were no occasions this week, the thieves have to come between midnight and four in the morning, the first wake-up call for servants.”

“So we have a timeframe...which helps. It also means that we can try and narrow in on a house now, and choose to shadow it tonight.” pondered Tezuka, as two plates arrived for himself and Sanada. Sanada had evidently ordered for him and accurately guessed what Tezuka liked. They both politely thanked the waiter, before turning back to the conversation. 

“Let’s not shadow the house tonight.” said Sanada, as he surprisingly sliced his food with neatness. Perhaps not as drunk as Tezuka had thought. Now that Tezuka noticed, Sanada was pretty observant. While Sanada ate pretty much the same thing every night, Tezuka often switched up. Had he really been looking so closely at Tezuka’s food? “We’re not prepared to be alert at that time, we may miss something because we are tired. Tomorrow, we should finish whatever duties we have, explore the areas around the houses during daylight, and then sleep early, just before sundown. And then we will be ready to be awake at the early hours.”

Tezuka nodded his agreement as they ate in silence for a while, before something occurred to him. He pulled the flowers out of his bag. “Here.” he said, as he pushed them over. “The lily. Is it the same lily?”

Sanada shook his head with a glance that was both filled with confusion and guilt. “I have no idea.” he said, seriously. “It’s the same type of flower, that’s a calla lily and it’s black. But I didn’t get to see any of the lilies left behind. I don’t know if they’re the same.”

“Then if we let tonight’s robbery happen, we may be able to compare these flowers.” said Tezuka, running a fingers on the roses, before stowing them away into his pocket. 

“It sits uneasily with me, Tezuka.” said Sanada, with a frown. “Who knows who it will hit?”

“...someone who deserves it.” said Tezuka, quietly, so no one else but Sanada would hear. “Someone who will not truly miss it, except for a chance to show off their gems.”

Sanada frowned at him as he placed down his cutlery on his plate, and Tezuka knew from the slightly guilty look in his eyes, that it had been what both of them were thinking. “Either way.” said Sanada, coughing a little, “It’s a crime. Against nobles, at that. And we have to stop it.”

Tezuka nodded, as he finished his plate. “That wasn’t debatable.” he said. They just didn’t need to be hasty in their actions. “Let’s not be careless, that is all.” It wouldn’t do to arrest the wrong person because they had hurried. 

Sanada nodded in confirmation as he smoothed down his clothes, Tezuka noted that he had changed back to the typical knight’s tabard, looking less like a noble. It suited him better than the pomp and circumstance. They were both knights at heart.

“You’re quiet.” said Sanada, and Tezuka’s eyes flickered upwards from where he had been staring. That was fairly typical for Tezuka, so Tezuka wasn’t sure what Sanada was really talking about, before he remembered that his subtle hints in body language were usually what tipped off Sanada. 

“I met Echizen today.” said Tezuka, quietly. “Is he not technically a crime?”

Sanada flinched. They had both rescued Echizen and his elder cousin from slavers, with a little illegality. Technically, slavers were completely legal in the land from which they had rescued him from, but since he was a citizen of Yamato’s kingdom, they had been able to rescue him and free him, albeit into the underworld. They both knew he existed, but his information network was unparalleled. 

“No farm will let him work, because he is tainted by slavery. No guild will accept him because he is too young. What else is he supposed to do for money? And he does not hurt people, nor threaten them. He trades, like guilds.” justified Sanada, with a frown. “These people are stealing, Tezuka. They are harming people. There’s a difference.”

“And who are we to say that Echizen is right and the thieves are wrong?” asked Tezuka.

“Who is the king to say such things?” demanded Sanada, in return. “He’s as human as any of us! It’s...it’s about doing what’s right. Doing the thing that will help the most people. As we’ve always done.” Sanada sighed and ran a hand through his hair, his face tired. “We’re getting too old for this.”

“We’re not even thirty.” said Tezuka, with a slightly wry look. “I thought you were stronger than that, Sanada.”

“Politics is a young man’s dream and an old man’s realm. For those who are stuck in the middle, it is just a disaster.” quoted Sanada, before letting a tiny smile touch his face. 

Tezuka just shook his head as he placed his share of the money on the table and stood up. “Come, let us finish our duties now, so we shall sleep some tonight.”

Sanada nodded as he adjusted his cloaks around him. Tezuka swept out towards the door, brushing past a man with abnormally long, brown hair, as he waited for Sanada in the doorway. The moon was almost full. It would be a good lighting for the nights of investigation to come. Sanada reached the door, with a pensive look, almost as if he wanted to say something, but as a small girl passed through them on her way out, his lips tightened together and he strode out, back towards the castle. 

Feeling underwhelmed, Tezuka followed him, looking back at the girl who’d interrupted them with a slight frown. 

(X) 

The next day, Tezuka found himself frowning at Atobe over breakfast. “The house next to your parents’?” he asked. 

“Yes.” said Atobe, uncharacteristically sober. “They’re very worried about their property now. But something’s strange. The flower changed.”

Tezuka frowned. “What?”

“A white rose, would you believe it?” asked Atobe, with a slight laugh. “They’re changing their image, perhaps.”

“White is also associated with death.” interjected Sanada, as he took a seat next to Tezuka. “They’re not changing their image, they’re trying to throw us off their tail.”

“Perhaps it is an imposter.” said Atobe, with a light smirk. “A copy-cat using the methods of the thieves.”

“No.” said Tezuka. “They are the original thieves.” His thoughts flickered back to the farm. He’d bought both white roses and a black orchid. “And they aren’t throwing anyone off the trail. They are being arrogant and giving us clues, because they feel that we cannot find them, even with clues.”

Sanada and Atobe both turned to look at him, as Tezuka rummaged through his pack, with a slowly increasing frown on his face as he came up. The flowers were missing... “Sanada, I didn’t give you the flowers, did I?”

Sanada shook his head. “You took them yourself...are you saying you don’t have them anymore?” 

Tezuka’s face tightened. The flowers were gone, most likely pickpocketed the night before. But why, flowers weren’t the usual target of thieves. So...the flowers had been taken on purpose by someone relating to the case. Because, if they were gone, it meant that Tezuka had no point of reference to compare the flowers left at the scenes and the flowers at the nursery. To gain the point of reference, Tezuka would have to return to the nursery, but he couldn’t help but think how it seemed that was exactly what the thieves wanted. 

Did he risk it being a trap...? Or did he stay back? 

“Atobe, do your parents laud their jewels to their dinner guests?” asked Tezuka, having never attended one of Atobe’s lavish dinners, despite several invitations. 

“Who doesn’t?” asked Atobe, with a slight shrug. “My parents are as of guilty of that as anybody.”

“Then they’re most likely the next on the list.” said Tezuka as he straightened, pushing away his untouched plate. “Take over my duties for me today, I have an idea of how to catch them.” He stood up and started to walk away, and Sanada followed him. 

Atobe had a look of slight frustration on his face as Tezuka left, but Tezuka knew that Atobe would take over Tezuka’s duties gracefully, because of the threat to his parents. Sanada bit into his apple as they strode down the hallways, a slight smirk on his face as he munched. No doubt enjoying Atobe’s irritation. “The plan?” he asked, as soon as they were far enough from the hall. 

“Since they’ve removed the flower, to compare and gain solid evidence, we’d need to return to the nursery. However, that’s exactly what they want. Nevertheless, I’m going to do it anyway. You just have to stay out of sight and watch and make sure to pull me out of trouble if there is something I cannot handle.” said Tezuka, seriously.

Sanada’s face became very serious. “You’re going to walk into a trap? Knowing it’s a trap?”

“Better than not knowing it is a trap.” said Tezuka, as he adjusted the sword on his waist. With a sigh, Sanada nodded his assent. 

(X)

The nursery was just as sweet-smelling as the it had been yesterday, but Tezuka felt more on edge now. Were the thieves surveying the nursery, or were the employees of the Nursery the thieves? It was a tricky question, and Tezuka could only hope it was the former, thinking about the blond man from yesterday. 

As he stepped closer to the front desk, a man with wavy blue hair stepped away from the seedlings he was planting and walked up to Tezuka. “Hello, welcome to 201 Nursery. My name is Yukimura, how can I help you today?” he said, with a warm smile, which felt more fake than anything that Tezuka had seen from Shiraishi the day before. 

“I wished to purchase some more white roses for my mother...she admired the ones from yesterday.” he said, pretending as if they hadn’t been taken by somebody. 

Yukimura smiled, warmly, not even acknowledging the lie. Perhaps the workers of the nursery were not involved; he hadn’t even blinked. “Of course, right this way. How many would you like, sir?” he asked, as he brushed back his hair and navigated Tezuka past the multitudes of flowers. 

“Perhaps four.” said Tezuka, mentally apologizing to his coin purse. 

Yukimura nodded as he stretched up to cut the flowers, but Tezuka wondered. His smile hadn’t been real at all. Did he know who Tezuka was? “Yukimura?” he asked, quietly. “Do you know where Shiraishi, the worker from yesterday is?”

Yukimura’s eyes flickered to Tezuka’s, with a slightly coy smirk on his face. “I’m afraid I don’t know where Kura is. It’s his day off but he’ll probably be somewhere in the City. Shall I leave a message for you?” His eyes widened as he pulled the last of the four flowers down and walked back to the desk.

“No, that won’t be necessary.” said Tezuka, watching Yukimura’s movements for anything that would mean that Tezuka was in trouble. Nothing was to be seen, as Yukimura wrapped the flowers neatly and jotted down something on the orders sheet. Tezuka frowned, perhaps it hadn’t been necessary to ask Sanada to accompany him. “Thank you for your trouble.”

Yukimura just smiled back up at him, as he handed Tezuka the flowers. “That’s three silver coins and one bronze.” Tezuka handed over the money and Yukimura waved cheerily at Tezuka as he left. 

Tezuka kept walked until he reached the bend in the road where Sanada was waiting. “Nothing suspicious.” he said, with an almost confused look towards Sanada. 

Sanada scowled. “Let’s go compare the flowers, come on. Inui has it, for safe-keeping.”

Tezuka nodded, his gaze flickering back to the nursery, momentarily. Had nobody acted because they’d known that Sanada was there? Or was he thinking too hard? Whatever it was, he hadn’t liked the smile on Yukimura’s face, and Tezuka trusted his instincts. Even if Yukimura hadn’t reacted to his lie, the workers at the nursery knew something. 

(X)

Tezuka disliked being dismissed by anyone other than the King. He especially disliked being dismissed by someone who was supposedly too busy for them. It was disappointing that Inui was otherwise unavailable because he had blown himself up, but that had been no need for Oishi to kick them out of the Infirmary.

Then again, Tezuka glanced towards Sanada, who looked like he was about to explode with rage, and mused that perhaps Oishi had been justified in throwing them both out. “Sanada, calm yourself. It’s bad luck, that’s all.” he advised, sternly. 

“He blew himself and _the evidence up_!” exploded Sanada, looking positively enraged. 

“You think I’m not angry as well?” asked Tezuka, with a slight twitch of his eyebrows. “However, we can only make Inui clean the stables once he’s recovered. And scaring servant girls to tears is not going to bring the evidence back.” He said, as he watched another girl drop her towels and run away bawling. 

Sanada didn’t look much too comforted by that fact and Tezuka twitched again, as yet another girl accidentally met Sanada’s eyes and ran away in tears. He gripped Sanada’s wrist and pulled him away from the castle, striding through the corridors in silence. The people in the streets of the City were far less likely to be frightened by Sanada’s glares.

Tezuka’s actions seemed to rip Sanada out of his anger anyway, as Sanada turned to stare at Tezuka. “You can let go now.” said Sanada, looking embarrassed as they streamed past the guards on the moat. 

Tezuka dropped his hand, with a little reluctance. “You shouldn’t let things faze you so easily.” said Tezuka, evenly, as they took a more even walking pace through the town. “You’ll let your guard down amongst your anger.”

Sanada just shook his head. “And now you sound like my grandfather.” he said, with a slightly amused look on his face.

“Is it such a bad thing?” asked Tezuka, with a slight smile. He liked Sanada’s family and Sanada’s grandfather especially. For of all of their riches, they were not braggarts and they treated everyone the same, regardless of class systems. 

“It would mean that sparring would be more like not trying to break you, if you were my grandfather.” retorted Sanada. “I prefer it this way.”

Tezuka did as well. He enjoyed their spars, it kept him on his toes and helped improve his skills. Sometimes Sanada even won, and those were always days that Tezuka felt more determination than ever. “Not if I _was_ your grandfather, if I was to sound like him. He is wise.” clarified Tezuka, evenly.

Sanada rolled his eyes and crossed his arms across his chest. “I’ve been trying to keep my guard up and keep my temper down. It’s just...we were so close to verifying that the nursery was the one supplying those flowers.”

Tezuka nodded; he understood Sanada’s frustration, but he just didn’t think it prudent to show it to the whole world. He paused a little as they walked past Atobe’s house. And over there, wasn’t that Oshitari’s house?

He paused and frowned as he glanced around them. It was a mostly housing district, where the rich came to be close to the King during the summer, and later retreated to their country estates, with sprawling acres of fertile land during the winter. These houses here were opulent, but cramped, as most of the City was. But it was the King’s city and that made people proud to be there. But this wasn’t a solely housing district. Nearby shops, small, unmarked places that weren’t houses...places where the thieves could hide or even be targeting. 

“Sanada, did you and Inui ever place all of the houses on a map and see how it looked?” asked Tezuka, addressing Sanada’s quizzical look. 

Sanada shook his head. “They’re too close together and randomly selected.”

“Perhaps not.” Tezuka suggested. “The library is not far from here, is it?”

(X)

“It’s a circle around that small shopping district.” said Sanada, as he looked over Tezuka’s shoulder, where Tezuka was making marks on the copy of the city’s map. “How did we not notice that?”

“There is an unmarked building in the direct centre.” said Tezuka, as he used his pencil to measure the circle. It wasn’t completely perfect, but he felt that an unknown building was more likely to be the target than a grocery store and a blacksmith. 

Sanada straightened up. “Let’s go and see what it is.”

Tezuka rolled up the map, placed it into his bag, before falling into step with Sanada. “That was a large clue to miss.”

“It was too obvious.” 

“You shouldn’t overestimate our opponents. Their arrogance will be their downfall.” 

Sanada scowled angrily, before schooling himself and assuming the quiet frown that Tezuka was more used to. “My mistake.” he said, stiffly. 

Tezuka just nodded. “Don’t get careless, Sanada.”

They arrived at the unmarked building from the map and Tezuka frowned. What was inside? Was it something regarding their mission? Sanada, on the other hand, just rapidly paled at the sight of the unadorned and non-conspicuous building. “Tezuka, it’s a brothel.” he hissed, looking mortified. 

Tezuka had several questions. Such as, how did Sanada know that, was there something he was missing and if there wasn’t, did Sanada frequent brothels often? Which couldn’t be, since they roomed together and Sanada was always around, except for the nights he visited family. Instead, he settled for, “Does that have any importance to our case?”

Sanada flushed. “I don’t know! Maybe?” he hissed, looking very uncomfortable to be there. Not a frequent visitor then. 

Tezuka had to hide the slight smirk. “Since you seem so knowledgeable and comfortable about this, perhaps you should go and ask some questions of the proprietors.”

Sanada’s face was now entirely red and he glared at Tezuka, with a heat that could instantly vapourize ice. “Fuck you.” 

Tezuka just adjusted his glasses, unable to stop the slight twitch to his mouth. “It’s broad daylight, Sanada.” he said, as he walked up to the door and pushed it open, letting Sanada follow, whose face looked more like a ripe tomato at Tezuka’s words. That wasn’t to say that Tezuka wasn’t uncomfortable about doing this, but he had always been better at hiding his emotions and this was a necessary evil. 

“I didn’t mean–” Sanada protested as they walked into the slight stuffy waiting room, that was covered in hanging silk clothes and cushions. 

“You don’t have to worry about your reputation because it’s broad daylight.” clarified Tezuka, feeling a slight heat in his ears, as he realized what it had sounded like. 

“Ah.”

There was a slight rustle that distracted from their awkward conversation, as a pretty girl drifted towards them, looking coy in practically nothing. “Can I do both of you?” she asked, suggestively rolling her body. 

Tezuka tried to not look at her. “We’re here to see the owner.” he said, cautiously. He had thought that the majority of the girls would be sleeping already, since they were supposedly the night birds. 

“Oh, but he’s not fun at all! Wouldn’t you prefer me? I’m much prettier than he is! I mean, even if you aren’t into girls, I’ll make it worth your while.” she said, with a lecherous wink. 

Was this typical behaviour for a prostitute? Tezuka didn’t think they were supposed to be so forceful, were they? He glanced up at her eyes and they seemed almost desperate or panicked. She didn’t want Sanada and Tezuka reaching the manager? Or was it something else?

“Sorry, we’re not interested.” said Sanada, with gritted teeth. “We want to speak with your boss.”

“You know what they say, talk is cheap.” she said, with a dainty giggle, that sounded uncomfortable. Tezuka frowned again. She didn’t seem confident at all. And that desperation in her eyes had increased.

With a subtle hand gesture, Tezuka pointed towards the area past the curtains to gesture that Sanada reach it. Sanada tossed him a look that asked _‘what about you?’_ Tezuka gestured towards the woman and the flowers in his bag. Sanada looked skeptical, but pushed past the curtains to go towards the manager’s room anyway.

She looked a little disappointed, but turned towards Tezuka with a slightly fervent look in her eyes. She hadn’t made a single move to stop Sanada from leaving, so she wasn’t afraid of covering up something...which meant something else. He sighed and pulled out his coin purse. He swore, one day, Sanada was going to be the one paying people for information. 

“What’s your name?” he asked, evenly. Her eyes had immediately fixated on the money bag. She wanted money. Well, that made more sense, didn’t it?

“Kotoha.” she said, with a happy smile. “How would you like me?”

“I’m not having sex with you.” said Tezuka, firmly. “I want some information and I want you to answer me completely honestly.”

She looked a little startled and put out of her rhythm. “Pardon?” she asked, almost in disbelief.

“Information.” said Tezuka, a little more kindly. “Do you know anything about the Lily Thieves?”

“What?” she asked, looking completely clueless and just a little disappointed. “No...I haven’t heard about it...”

“Have you seen any of your customers with these flowers?” asked Tezuka, as he pulled out the white roses. He could have done with the black lillies right then, but circumstances definitely didn’t approve of him owning them. Or rather, the thieves didn’t approve. 

“No...” she said, her voice more quiet as she crossed her arms across her chest. “I haven’t seen anything. I...can I do anything else? I do a really good handjob.”

The disappointment in her voice was almost too much to bear. How poverty reduced people to almost inhumane states. Tezuka shook his head and held out a gold coin and a silver coin to her. “No, I don’t think so. But, thank you for your time.” he said, quietly and politely. “Have a good day.”

Her face brightened as she took the money and smiled softly at Tezuka as she took the money. “Thank you sir! If I see anything around here like that, I’ll be sure to tell you, sir!” she said, as she fled back through the veiled curtains towards the side. 

Tezuka looked around, through the curtains ahead of him. He couldn’t see Sanada there, which meant that Sanada had probably already reached the manager. There was no point in getting lost in looking for Sanada. He’d wait here. He turned around to take a seat on one of the divans that scattered the waiting room, when his eyes fell upon someone who definitely hadn’t been there five minutes ago.

“Shiraishi.” he said, with a surprised look.

“That was kind of you.” said Shiraishi, with a slightly wistful smile. “There are few people who would have done that, when she didn’t even give you any information.”

Tezuka was quiet in response, as he quickly studied Shiraishi’s clothing and body posture. Dressed nothing like the other woman, so he wasn’t a member of the brothel. He was visiting the brothel at this time of day? But no, he lacked the sated look that most men in the castle gained after sex and he did not look ruffled at all. He was a visitor but not for the services. How odd.

“You are in here at the wrong hours.” said Tezuka, finally, since it seemed that Shiraishi was content to just look at Tezuka, almost appraisingly. 

“So are you. Isn’t that a coincidence?” said Shiraishi, his eyes glinting with amusement. 

“Perhaps. But you clearly saw that I was conducting an investigation, while you have no clearly defined reason to be here.”

Shiraishi’s smile sharpened and his gaze turned from appraising to assessing, with a little more caution. Tezuka felt like he was being judged and he unconsciously shifted to stand a tad taller. “There aren’t many people who would have done that.” said Shiraishi again, as if he was convincing himself. 

Tezuka just waited for Shiraishi to finish thinking. Shiraishi, as an employee of the 201 Nursery was visiting this brothel in his spare time for no actual reason. A brothel in the centre of all of the houses robbed and a man who probably sold the flowers to the thieves––and had told the thieves that Tezuka had bought white roses while investigating. There was next-to-no doubt that Shiraishi had something useful for Tezuka’s investigation, and if he was willing to give it up....

Shiraishi got up from the chair, with a languid stretch. “I guess good deeds should be rewarded. Or else no one will pursue justice.” he said, with a slightly wry smile. He grabbed Tezuka’s hand and pulled out a stick of charcoal. He neatly wrote the name of a tavern that was slightly further away from the castle than Tezuka liked, and wrote a time of day, later at night than Tezuka would have liked. It would mean that he and Sanada would be cutting corners to stake out the nobles houses that night. 

Shiraishi glanced up to see that Tezuka had seen the messages, before he kissed Tezuka’s hand and pulled his lips along the words, until they were no longer visible as anything but a black smudge. He just shot Tezuka a significant look as he walked away from the brothel licking away the black along his lips, sensually. 

Tezuka just pursed his lips and sighed. Apparently, Shiraishi didn’t know the meaning of subtlety, but if that was supposed to put him off wanting to collect on the information, Shiraishi would be mistaken. Admittedly, he wasn’t happy about what he might have to do. Sex wasn’t something to be taken or given lightly. It was supposed to be done for love; that was what his mother and father had always said. 

But sex wasn’t much but power, nowadays. And it wouldn’t be unpleasant with the other man, in any case. He’d just hoped that...

There were footsteps from behind him and Tezuka turned over his shoulder to see Sanada, with a triumphant smirk on his face. “You found....?”

“Let’s get out of here.” said Sanada, firmly, as he grabbed Tezuka’s upper arm and pulled him out of the brothel, in seven firm steps. Once they were out on the streets again, Sanada seemed a little more relaxed. 

“Well?” asked Tezuka, as they started walking back towards the castle, at a slightly more relaxed pace that the one they had taken to get to town. 

“The manager knew nothing about the thieves. Which was expected, why would he care?” Sanada said, curtly. “But, when I mentioned all of the houses that were robbed, he recognized the names. Every household has at least one member who is a regular at the brothel.”

Tezuka’s eyebrows rose a little. Well then. That was convenient. “Is that so?”

Sanada’s face looked contemptuous. “I asked whether there was one particular member that they all visited, but he said that they used several girls, so I just got a list of all of the girls. But their names aren’t real.”

How inconvenient. Tezuka held his hand out for the list and frowned. “Is that...blood?” he asked, noticing a few drops of faded brown on the edge of the paper.

“He needed some persuading of the non-monetary kind.” Sanada said, sternly and Tezuka decided it was probably not wiser to ask. Instead, he just leveled a firm glare of disapproval at Sanada’s methods, and glanced down at the paper. The names were generic fake names, few sounding like something they would actually be called. 

But more than anything, three names stood out. “These three.” said Tezuka, tapping them with his finger, noticing how the black smudge hadn’t faded away just yet. It made him feel almost guilty. Did he mention Shiraishi to Sanada? He probably had to, since Tezuka wasn’t ever late to things and would almost certainly be late to their watch on the houses tonight. 

“What about them?” asked Sanada, before he reread their names and nodded. “Flowers.” Rose, Jasmine, Sakura. 

“There’s got to be a link between them.” Tezuka said, with a nod.

“It could be a decoy.” Sanada pointed out as he crossed his arms across his chest. “It’s too obvious. They’re clever.”

“They’re arrogant.” Tezuka retorted, again. He wondered how often he’d have to point this out. “They’re so confident that they cannot be caught. They sent me the clearest message by using white roses instead the black lily. They said ‘we know you’re investigating, but we don’t care.’ That’s arrogance.”

Sanada’s jaw tightened. “But they stole the flowers. They didn’t let us keep a comparison of the flowers, and I am starting to think that Inui’s explosion wasn’t a coincidence.”

It was a good point and one that Tezuka wasn’t sure how to combat logically. He just had an instinct that told him he was right about this. Instincts had kept him alive in the past, when fighting armies of men or being ambushed. He didn’t want to easily ignore it. “The flowers are probably the key to discovering their identity, which is why they were stolen. Or perhaps it was even to make this more interesting for them. Nevertheless, I am fairly certain that these three girls are the focus.”

Sanada nodded. “I’ll trust you.” he said, as they passed the guards at the gate of the castle. “Then, one of us has to go back to the brothel and ask about the girls. And the other has to keep watch over the houses.”

Wasn’t this his chance? He could get the information from Shiraishi and the girls at the same time and Sanada wouldn’t be suspicious. He could be gone the whole night, if he needed to be and have a proper explanation. Still, Tezuka didn’t like lying. He didn’t want to lie. 

“I have another source as well.” said Tezuka. “I saw Shiraishi inside the of the brothel. The woman didn’t have any useful information, but he offered an exchange for information.” He didn’t mention what the exchange entailed. 

“You suspect him, don’t you?” asked Sanada, with a little surprise tinged in his eyes. “Why would you accept his information?”

“With a grain of salt obviously.” Tezuka dismissed, as they wandered past the training grounds and through the armoury. “He offered the exchange, so obviously there will probably be something wrong with it. But he might give me other hints in the process of meeting with him.”

Sanada was quieter for a longer time than Tezuka had expected and he turned to glance at Sanada’s face. It was more closed-off than Tezuka had seen for some time. “Sanada?” he asked. 

“I should come with you. What if something happens?” Sanada asked, pensively. 

“Nothing happened at the nursery despite it being set up like a trap. They knew you were there.” Tezuka said, pursing his lips together momentarily. “Have faith, Sanada. I can fight my way out if I need to. Need I remind you who it is who had won the majority of our matches?”

“Majority. By two matches. Such a majority.” mocked Sanada, but his face still looked concerned. “Just...take care?”

“Always.” said Tezuka, letting a smile touch his face. Sanada returned it, before they parted ways, to finish their duties within the castle. 

(X)

As Tezuka looked around the streets for the appropriate street-sign, he mused that he had been spending far too much time in taverns over the past few days. He hoped that it wasn’t a trend set to continue. He disliked the atmosphere, especially when they felt as shady as the one that Shiraishi had chosen. 

Had Echizen been comfortable in coming close to the city, Tezuka was sure that this was where the younger boy would have set up camp. Luckily, unlike his meeting with Echizen, he had no reason to wait. Shiraishi was already there, chatting avidly with a pretty serving girl, who was laughing heartily. 

Tezuka approached a little slower than his usual stride, allowing Shiraishi to notice him and dismiss the serving girl. Shiraishi smiled a little upon seeing Tezuka, and leant forward, as Tezuka took a seat at the table. 

“You look stiff, you should relax a little.” said Shiraishi, with a slightly amused smile. Tezuka just glared and ignored him, as he took a seat at the table. “Have a drink or two, loosen up.”

“I don’t like to drink.” said Tezuka, with a frown. 

“Hmm.” said Shiraishi, with a slight smile playing at his lips. “You’re quite disciplined, I’m impressed.” His face tightened and he looked more serious. “But, is our agreement consensual? Do you want to? Because forced anything, especially forced sex is wrong. Because that’s slavery.” He looked sorrowful and bitter and angry. Tezuka knew there was a story behind that and it made him angry that slavery was still allowed to be around in some countries at all.

“Do you wish to talk about it?” he asked, quietly. “I can do something about those people.”

Shiraishi looked up with a little surprise, before he smirked a little. “Too many clues inside that story. I don’t think so.”

Tezuka blinked, in surprise. Too many clues...why would someone who was pressurized by thieves say anything like that? “You’re confirming that you are the thief, then?”

Shiraishi laughed as he shook back his blond hair, cheerfully. “Take it as you will. Either way, you cannot arrest me without proof for there are no eyewitness accounts. And if you do, you will never be able to pronounce me guilty in the jury trial.”

Well, that was true, but it didn’t make Tezuka less irritated to be dangled clues in front of his face. “I consent.” he said, through his slightly gritted teeth. “But I’ll ask the questions before anything.”

“Indeed, we might get distracted.” Shiraishi said, with an amused smirk and Tezuka just stared him down. “But before anything, I want to confirm...you’re Tezuka Kunimitsu? The famous knight?”

That was right, he hadn’t actually told Shiraishi his name, as protection. But he was quite recognisable, even out of anything that looked like a typical knight. “That is correct.” Tezuka said with a nod. “How many of you are there?”

“Three people. I won’t say who.” said Shiraishi, cheerfully, as he leant back in his chair and stretched out his arms, showing a bandage loosely wrapped around his hand. Tezuka’s eyes flicked up to it and frowned a little, marking it away as a clue. “That’s the fun part to find out.”

“Why are you targeting nobles?” asked Tezuka.

“Why not?” was Shiraishi’s quick answer, as his lips quirked and he shrugged slightly. Tezuka was both frustrated and amused. It was a challenge to pull anything out of Shiraishi, there was no doubting that. 

Still, Tezuka had confidence in himself. That had merely been the prepared answer, he wanted the real truth. “Is it because of the brothel and the three women? Rose, Jasmine and Sakura?” asked Tezuka prodding further.

“You’re barking up the wrong tree.” Shiraishi murmured, as he swilled the drink in his cup, not really touching it. “The most I can give you is that you should stop thinking about the brothel and start looking at the nobles with increased fervour.”

“It’s not just because they had sex with those women?” asked Tezuka, with a frown. Shiraishi just smiled blandly, and adjusted the sleeves of his cape. Tezuka frowned. He was asking the wrong questions. “Who will you be targeting next?” tried Tezuka instead, frustrated to be playing someone else’s game so perfectly. He was being entirely controlled by Shiraishi and it angered him. 

Judging by Shiraishi's widened eyes, he hadn’t been expecting such a direct question. Good. Shiraishi softly laughed, but there was something bitter in there. “I can’t tell you yet, Tezuka. Give me three days. Then all of this will stop. You can even arrest me if you like. Not sure if the others will like it, but it’s probably for the best.”

They were planning on stopping? Which meant that there were a certain of number of people marked out as targets, and that he and Sanada only had a limited amount of them to catch the Lily Thieves. “Where would you suggest to look about the nobles?”

“Dig up their backhistory. Their dirty laundry. It’s not too difficult.” Shiraishi snorted slightly, his eyes amused. “Everyone has their secrets, but some are more harmful than others.”

Was Shiraishi implying that the nobles deserved their misfortune for reasons beyond being rich? Tezuka’s eyes narrowed. It was a lot of information, that Tezuka would need to think over later with Sanada and discover which parts were true and which were now. For now, he had a bargain to uphold. He nodded as he got up and Shiraishi languidly followed him up. 

“I have a room already reserved.” said Shiraishi, as he walked towards the stairs. Tezuka remained silent, not really knowing what to say as he followed Shiraishi up the stairs. 

He hadn’t done this before. He’d _looked_ at his fellow trainees and sometimes at the pretty serving girls and ladies of the court, but he’d never visited a brothel or even engaged in a relationship with anyone. He’d been waiting for _someone_ to open his mouth and spit it out. But it didn’t seem like it was forthcoming any time soon. 

Still, he was fairly sure that Shiraishi already knew that he was inexperienced, as he opened their room and shut it behind him, softly, quite clearly not locking it. 

Shiraishi smiled a little nervously. “You’re sure–”

Tezuka leant forward and interrupted with a firm kiss, as he tilted Shiraishi’s chin up, in order to make their kiss easier. It was a little stiff and uncertain, but it made his point. “I’m sure.” he said, as he leant back in for another kiss, where Shiraishi’s tongue pulled around his mouth, gently.

He liked Shiraishi, really. In another life, where he had known Shiraishi for longer or where he wasn’t chasing Shiraishi as a criminal, he mused that they would have been good friends, if not more. As it was, this was only really lust, but he supposed he could enjoy it a little. But it wouldn’t do to let his guard down, not now. Not with Shiraishi. 

(X)

Tezuka adjusted the scarf around his neck to hide the slight bruises on this neck and was silently grateful of how cold it was in early morning. He supposed it did count as morning at 2am, even if he was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep a little.

It was harder, however, to hide the slight bruises along his wrist from where they’d accidentally collided with the headboard of the bed. He hoped that Sanada wouldn’t notice, but his fellow knight wasn’t stupid. 

As he rounded on the training yard, on his way up to their shared room, he saw Sanada quickly slicing up a doll of straw, with more pent-up fury than he usually had for simple training. Tezuka waited until Sanada lowered his broadsword to enter the training ring, with his own sword. “Spar?” he asked, to the panting Sanada, who seemed thoroughly warmed-up. 

Sanada glanced up at Tezuka’s layers of clothing and just raised an eyebrow. “You aren’t warmed up, I’ll smash you.”

Tezuka just picked up a practise sword, in response. He wanted to spar, and Sanada wasn’t the sort to turn down a victory, especially not when he was so angry at something. Sanada just shook his head as he picked up his wooden sword and settled into stance, as they circled each other. 

“What did you find?” asked Tezuka, as he moved his sword cautiously in circles, to make it a little more difficult for Sanada to predict his next move. 

“I almost caught them.” said Sanada, with gritted teeth as he lunged forward towards Tezuka’s chest. “I was outside the Taki mansion since it’s got the best vantage point of the area and I saw two suspicious people entering the Atobe mansion and I ran over there. But I missed them and by the time I got there, they were already escaping over the roofs. By the time I would have gotten there, they would have escaped.”

Tezuka frowned as he easily deflected the shot and moved forward to try and get to Sanada’s head. “Did you catch a glimpse of them?”

“Nothing concrete.” Sanada backed away quickly, making Tezuka’s shot miss and tapped Tezuka’s arm with a speed that Tezuka couldn’t achieve without warming up. “Only enough to know that one of them had blue-black hair.”

“Yukimura.” Tezuka remembered, as they reset their positions. “From the nursery also. Did he not have that shade of hair?”

“Indeed. Nevertheless, this means that the Atobes got robbed, though I have yet to confirm with Atobe himself, since I am sure he is asleep now.” Sanada said, as he attacked from the get-go and Tezuka easily parried his lunges. 

Sanada had come straight to the training grounds after his failed attempt, then. Tezuka doubted that the other planned on sleeping at all and he frowned as he twisted his wrist to throw Sanada off-balance and tap Sanada lightly on the chest. “Will you be functional today, Sanada?”

“Well enough.” sad Sanada, as he righted his stance and looked down the shaft of his sword. “What did you find?”

“I tried to talk to the girls. I was denied, since I said that I didn’t wish to sleep with them. I was told to come back this morning, after the majority of their paying customers are gone.” said Tezuka, as he lunged forward, into a lilting attack. He rarely attacked in his fights, but Sanada wasn’t going to move, he knew. 

Sanada blocked the shots. “We’ll go together then. And Shiraishi?”

“Told me I should investigate the nobles and not the brothel. He also said something about giving him time before he can give us anything substantial. He practically admitted to being a thief, but said that we wouldn’t have evidence to convict him in a jury-court.” Knights didn’t have a good reputation among the people, there was no way for the knights to win without clear eyewitness proof. “He says there’s something in the dirty history of the nobles.” Tezuka dodged Sanada’s quick-fire attack, and swept for Sanada’s feet. 

Sanada stepped back instantly, which Tezuka hadn’t been expecting and he quickly hit the side of Tezuka’s neck. The scarf fell away from it’s careful arrangement and Tezuka staggered back a few feet, quickly tucking the scarf back into place. But it was just a little too late, Sanada’s face had frozen in slight shock. 

Tezuka met Sanada’s gaze coolly as he settled back into stance. “Still, we shouldn’t give up investigation on the brothel, since I don’t fully trust his words. Especially since he seems to have some sort of trauma surrounding slavers–”

“So you don’t trust his words, but you trust him in other ways?” interrupted Sanada, looking a mixture between affronted and angry. He wasn’t in ready stance at all, his sword dropped at his side. 

“He fulfilled his end of the bargain. I had to fulfill mine.” said Tezuka, pursing his lips, as he lowered his sword. 

Sanada’s jaw tightened and he looked somewhat furious and simultaneously sad. His sword trembled in his grip and he took almost shaky breaths, as the cold night breezes whipped past them both. Tezuka just watched, with a slight frown. He both admired Sanada’s ability to let those emotions free and wondered at the folly of letting everybody know the deepest parts of Sanada’s passion. 

“You obviously have something you want to say, Sanada, so say it.” Tezuka said, simply, as he placed the practise sword aside. 

Sanada just shook his head, his teeth gritted. “You’re more than that, Tezuka. You didn’t need to...you know...you could have exchanged something else.”

Tezuka didn’t reply; he knew it was more than that, and he just wanted to hear Sanada _say_ what he’d been wanting to hear for a long time. 

“Just...why would you even _make_ an exchange like that?” asked Sanada, his anger spilling out. “Doesn’t it hurt your pride?”

That hadn’t been what Tezuka had been wanting to hear. Tezuka couldn’t stop the slight twitch of his eyebrows at the absence of words. “Because duty overrides pride.” Sanada knew that well, even if he wasn’t always good at upholding it. “We should go investigate the girls and then we should do some serious research into the background of the nobles, as well. Shiraishi spoke like there was only a limited amount of vict–”

“Did you like it? Or did you like him?” asked Sanada, as he met Tezuka’s gaze, still looking supremely confused. 

Tezuka’s eyes shut for a slight moment. Sanada knew him so well, but still managed to summarily miss the point. He wondered how that happened. “You’re letting your guard down, Sanada, we have work to do.” he said, avoiding the question. 

“I don’t care.” Sanada uttered. “I’ve been training and fighting for this kingdom since I was fifteen and I have been training single-mindedly since I was six. You were training since you were five. We’ve given our lives and souls to the kingdom, we’re allowed an hour to ourselves, Tezuka.”

Tezuka’s jaw tightened. He knew that Sanada was right. It was two in the morning, the King was hardly going to begrudge them this, but he didn’t want to talk about it. Not when Sanada was still clueless. “Does it matter so much to you?”

Sanada tilted his head back, until it was cloaked in shadow and sighed. “Yes. Yes, it matters to me, Tezuka.”

“...I could have liked him. But I did not. And I could have liked it, had it not been something I was only doing for duty.” said Tezuka, simply, as he circled his fingers around his bruised wrist. “Is that enough for you?”

He couldn’t see Sanada’s face, but his fists had stilled and he looked the picture of serenity. It probably wasn’t an accurate representation of Sanada’s internal feelings. Tezuka just sighed and started to walk away from the training grounds. Maybe a few hours of sleep before he had to go back and talk to the girls would do him some good. Perhaps his dreams would tell him something about the culprit. The subconscious was supposedly better at this sort of thing than real people. 

“Wait, Tezuka.” came Sanada’s voice from behind him and Tezuka turned around. Sanada’s brow was soaked with sweat and he looked torn. “You...” He trailed off and screwed up his eyes, with a growl of frustration. “Just forget it. Sorry. Sleep well.”

Tezuka pursed his lips and didn’t turn to leave. Instead, he stepped forward and gripped Sanada’s shoulders. They had been so close to something. “Just say what you want to say. It isn’t like you to dart around what you want to say.”

Sanada just shook his head, and his cheeks were flushed. “It’s nothing important. Forget it, Tezuka.”

“Then I’ll speak.” Tezuka said, his eyebrows pulling down into a deep frown. “I have waited four years. I have danced around the issue for four years, and I have patience, but not for this extent. You were going to ask me a question and the answer would have been yes.”

Sanada’s eyebrows pulled down, as he looked down at Tezuka. “Would have been? Is the answer still yes?”

Tezuka just nodded and tilted his head up a little, as Sanada hesitantly leant forward to kiss him. It was softer than Tezuka had been expecting, but not unwelcome. Sanada’s eyes were shut as they both pulled away to catch their breath and Tezuka thought that this was probably the closest he could get to happiness in a society like theirs and with a thief running through the city of the King. Considering how Sanada’s arms tightened around his waist and he pulled Tezuka into another, more passionate kiss, Sanada felt the same. 

Tezuka’s hands slipped under Sanada’s loose training-shirt, to run his hands along Sanada’s sides and up Sanada’s back, while still kissing, which led to the unfortunate consequence of Sanada’s teeth almost skewering Tezuka’s tongue. Tezuka just glared. “Don’t get careless.” 

(X)

It wasn’t often that Tezuka went entirely without sleep, which was why he felt like like he was going to fall asleep right there in front of the girls. The three of them looked just as tired as Tezuka felt, however, which is why the five of them were perched in the comfortable chaises in the waiting room of the brothel. 

Still, even if Tezuka was fairly tired, he was still able to think. The girl in the middle, Jasmine, looked like a female version of the nursery worker, Yukimura, with wavy black hair and a pretty smile on her tired face. The other two, with long brown hair, looked less familiar, but the fact that Jasmine looked so similar to Yukimura put him on edge.

They were dressed like the typical brothel workers, as he had seen the swathes of silk and transparent cloth, but Sanada had kindly asked them to cover up since it was cold, and they had happily covered themselves in blankets. But not before Tezuka had noticed the fact that all of them wore beautiful jewels, that looked just a little too elaborate. 

“So what did you knights want to talk about, anyway? Manager seemed pretty convinced that you two weren’t here for sex.” said Sakura, who looked the eldest of the group. 

“Are you related to a nursery worker at 201 nursery, Yukimura?” asked Tezuka first, to Jasmine. She didn’t react, just tilted her head to the side as she thought and shook her head. “Nope, sorry. Why?”

“Idle wonderings.” said Tezuka, firmly. Perhaps lying ran in the family. “Have any of you heard of the Lily Thieves?”

“Kotoha was talking about it, I guess?” asked Sakura, with a slight shrug, as she scratched her neck.

“Some of my customers have been complaining about it, but I don’t really pay attention.” said the youngest, Rose, with a slight flush to her face, as she tucked her hair behind her ear. “I have other things to worry about.”

“You have to remember that we live in the brothel all the time. When we’re not working, we’re sleeping. It’s difficult to keep up on gossip or news around the city unless the boss says something.” said Jasmine, completely evenly, without any of the guilty tells of her comrades. If anything, that made her more suspicious to Tezuka. 

“Would you be able to tell us who your main recurring customers are among the nobles of our City?” asked Sanada, his voice a little harsh. 

“Hmmmm...I guess, but I mean, why would you care?” asked Sakura, her eyes flickering up to meet Sanada’s with a slightly amused look. 

“We’re conducting an investigation, all alleys of questioning must be undertaken. Now are you going to obstruct justice or follow my orders?” asked Sanada, hotly. Tezuka just leant back and watched the girls write down names, with slight looks of thought. They seemed to have difficulty remembering the names, or perhaps, with just writing. He wondered whether they’d ever had an education as extensive as he and Sanada had had. 

“We go to Atobe after this, then after the nobles?” Tezuka whispered to Sanada’s ear. 

Sanada nodded, as Jasmine finished her list first and the other two quickly wrapped up, handing the lists to the knights. Tezuka noted as he picked up Rose and Sakura’s lists, that the people who had been targeted so far, were on both of their lists. A quick peek over Sanada’s shoulder at Jasmine’s list showed the same result. 

“There’s a common denominator.” muttered Sanada, and Tezuka just nodded grimly. “Thank you for your time, ladies.” said Tezuka, as he got up and bowed. “If you would wait for a little while, we need to discuss some things and see if we have any follow-up questions.”

“Fine.” said Sakura. “But make it snappy, we’re all dead and we need our beauty sleep.”

Tezuka pulled Sanada outside quickly, with a nod to them. “The common denominators we’ve already seen are all here. Atobe, Oshitari, Katsuo, Sengoku, Suwabe, Sasabe.” he said, tapping to the names on the sheet. “But there are six other names on this list that are the same. There are only three more thefts set to happen.” said Tezuka, with a deep frown. “Which means there’s something more to it.”

“The nobles’ dirty history that Shiraishi was talking about?” asked Sanada, as he glanced through the list and nodded. “Once we confirm with Atobe about his house missing their prize jewel, we can head to Inui and ask him about the nobles on the list. But did you notice something about the jewels they were wearing? They’re far too expensive and elaborate for something that a lower class brothel could afford to provide its workers.”

Tezuka nodded at the confirmation of his previous thoughts. “I agree, those gems do not seem normal. but I have heard of nobles giving their favoured girls jewels.”

“When jewels are being stolen across the city, we can’t rule this out. I haven’t actually seen any of the jewels before they were stolen.” said Sanada, with a nod. “But. The headpiece that Rose was wearing looked a lot like other pieces inside Suwabe’s collection.”

Tezuka nodded, with a slight frown. “Then we take the jewels and ask the nobles about whether they’re the right ones?”

Sanada shook his head. “You said it yourself, we need more proof. Let’s arrest the thieves first. Then we’ll come back here with evidence about their motives and take the jewels.”

Tezuka nodded. “You’re free to go.” he said, looking back at the girls. “We may return for further questions.”

The girls just nodded and dispersed into the clouds of curtains that concealed the other exits out of the large room. Tezuka sighed. He was spending far too much in these places. 

(X)

Conveniently, Atobe had gone to visit Inui in the infirmary. Tezuka wasn’t quite sure why; as far as he knew, Atobe and Inui didn’t really interact beyond anything arbitrary. Still, Atobe was at Inui’s bedsides, seemingly in deep conversation until Sanada and Tezuka arrived,

“Tezuka, you look dreadful.” said Atobe, with a frown as he walked forward to peer at Tezuka’s face. “Have you been sleeping at all?”

Sanada rolled his eyes, as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Obviously not, since these robberies occur at _night_.”

Atobe just sneered. “About that, what happened to preventing my father from getting robbed? He’s most displeased about the missing diamonds.” He sniffed and looked expectantly at Sanada.

“We missed them. Our hunch wasn’t enough.” said Tezuka, quietly, to avoid the angry yell that was sure to come from Sanada. Sanada and Atobe always managed to anger each other in some way, especially when it involved their families. Still, it was confirmed that the robbers had managed to get the diamonds from Atobe’s home. 

“That’s rare.” said Inui, from his bed. “Generally Tezuka’s instinct is 95% accurate.”

“My instinct has told me many things but we have no real proof as of yet.” Tezuka said, ignoring Atobe and Sanada’s glaring contest. He pulled out one of the sheets with the circled names. “What news do you know about the people who’ve already been robbed, that link with the names on this list?” It might have been the only time that Tezuka was willingly going to ask for Inui’s gossip column and he wasn’t missing the look of sheer wonder on Inui’s face. 

He almost grimaced as Inui started babbling. He nodded helplessly, trying to catch keywords about the sheer amount of gossip that Inui knew, but stopped him as he heard the word slavery. “Wait, go back. Slavery, tell me about slavery.”

Sanada frowned and Atobe paled. “Those rumours are _unsubstantiated_ , Inui!” he snapped. 

“What rumours?” asked Sanada, looking quite concerned. Tezuka pursed his lips and turned to Inui. Inui looked a little concerned of Atobe’s glare, but continued. “There’s rumours about a large group of nobles funding a group of slavers in order for cheaper entertainment around the City. Pretty boys and pretty girls are taken from their parents who are too deep into debt and sold to the slavers. They’re groomed into being anything. Servants, prostitutes, adopted children...”

“My father did not fund something like that.” hissed Atobe. “My father is a good man. He’s one of the more generous landlords in this country about rents and letting people use his land.”

That was fairly true, but Atobe’s father was also the richest man in the country and it wasn’t inheritance money. Atobe’s parents were old money, but they had become very, very rich during Atobe’s father’s time as a Lord. Money like that wasn’t made from altruism.Luckily, Tezuka didn’t have to voice those thoughts, since Sanada did it for him.

“How well do you know him, really, Atobe? He’s always working and I’ve rarely heard of you two interacting beyond the large dinner parties he throws.” said Sanada, seriously. “He’s also been cheating with your mother with several prostitutes.”

The other knight snorted bitterly. “And of course, because he can cheat on an arranged marriage made for the sole purpose of preventing civil war, you think he can put innocent children into a slave ring? Because those are two things you can equate together.”

Tezuka’s jaw tightened. “It’s one of the only leads I have, Atobe. I hope I’m wrong.” he said, tightly. “Who were the other alleged people involved in the ring, Inui?”

“Kadowaki, Saotome and Kiraku.” said Inui, as he glanced at the list. Three people exactly, didn’t that match up?

“You’re seriously believing this?” asked Atobe, with a dry look. “Slavery is banned in this country. Our lords may do some questionable things, but they’ll not break the King’s law like this.”

Sanada threw Tezuka a sharp look and Tezuka sighed. “That’s not true, Atobe. There are slavers from other countries using our country as feed-base. Technically, since they’re not of our country’s, they can operate here.” Tezuka said, sharply. He hadn’t wanted to mention this, they’d kept it covered from even the King himself, in order to keep the two Echizens safe. “They shouldn’t have been able to get into the country at all, however, especially not with people. But I understand how they would be able to do it now.”

Inui bolted up, with horror. “There are slavers operating this country?”

Sanada nodded, looking vaguely guilty. “They _can_ operate. They shouldn’t be, though. Tezuka and I put enough slavers into the ground a year ago, that they shouldn’t have been to recover and even if they do, they’ll think twice before entering.” he said, seriously. “Actually, one of those people I killed was Saotome’s son, but I always thought that he was a rogue outlet, not part of the family business.”

“Why are you all accepting this so easily?” demanded Atobe. “Get some proof before you accuse my father of anything!”

Sanada looked like he was about to say something and Tezuka stepped on his foot discreetly. He didn’t want to expose Echizen to Inui or Atobe. “We will. But in return, I need something from you.” Tezuka said, quietly. “A description of all of the jewels stolen. We have a time-limit, or I’d do it myself.”

Atobe nodded. “Fine, I can do that. Go investigate the slavery. But you’ll see my father’s innocent.”

Tezuka just nodded and grabbed Sanada’s hand to pull him out of there, with a short nod to Inui. The moment that they were out of earshot, Sanada turned to him. ‘You don’t think that Atobe’s father is innocent, do you?”

“Shiraishi told me there was something in the background of the nobles. But we have to question it, he could be trying to deflect attention or even frame them for the slavery ring problems.” reasoned Tezuka, squeezing Sanada’s hand and letting it go. “Which is why we’re going to see Echizen. He keeps an eye of the slave rings, he’ll know about which nobles are involved with helping them in and out.”

“Why hasn’t he done anything about it, then?” asked Sanada, looking incredulous.

Tezuka just tossed Sanada a grim look. “He’s a child, Sanada. He’s still scared of the slavers.”

(X)

“I’m not scared of them.” snapped Echizen, as he adjusted the hood over his face. “I just don’t want to draw attention to myself. Stick one of those bastards in front of me with no repercussions and I’d stab him so hard that I’ll cause an earthquake.” he said, cockily. 

Sanada snorted softly. “But do you know the details of the slavery ring?”

“I might.” Echizen said, his golden eyes settling on Sanada, looking expectant. Tezuka had to stop himself from smiling a little as Sanada scowled and forked out some money.

“Alright, so, there are a bunch of grunt work around it, but it’s a money-making business. The slaves are taken from this country, all groomed up and prettied up in other places and then returned back here. Thing is, you’ll always be able to know that they’re a slave, because they have markings.” Echizen looked around the shady tavern for a bit, before he pulled up his sleeve to show the brand, forever burned into his skin. He tucked his hand away quickly. 

“The brands are different for the different slaves to throw off anyone investigating, but in reality, they’re all the same slave ring that work inside our country.” Echizen, with a frown. “The people in charge are slippery though, they know how to cover their tracks. Nobody’s really sure. Only rumours around here.”

Tezuka’s jaw tightened. “But you know more.” he said, reading the glint in Echizen’s eyes. 

“There’s a group of nobles in charge.” said Echizen. “They’re the ones making sure that the border smuggling is easily done. The people in top switch out a lot, though.”

Tezuka slid forward their list. “So these names mean...”

“Oshitari senior and Suwabe senior are definitely involved.” said Echizen, as he glanced down at the circled names. “Atobe senior hasn’t been sighted, but he’s there. Sasabe’s been sighted at the border when he’s supposed to be elsewhere and Katsuo senior’s almost certainly involved since his men are inside the area. Sengoku junior’s not been seen, that’s just a rumour. Mmm, Kadowaki senior and Saotome for sure, Nanako has Saotome’s family animal on her wrist. Kiraku senior...he’s from a foreign country and his family’s circumstances of getting into the country were shady. The others are pretty clear, though.”

Sanada’s eyes widened marginally and Tezuka remembered that most of the times he’d used Echizen’s help, he hadn’t brought Sanada along. Still, Sanada recovered quickly enough. “How are you sure of Atobe senior’s involvement?”

Echizen just rolled his eyes. “I thought you were a rich guy, Sanada. You’re supposed to know family crests.” He held out his wrist again, nevertheless and there, on his arm, was a lion. The lion that was prominently featured in the Atobe family seal. 

Sanada just shut his eyes. “This was supposed to be a clear-cut robbery case. And now slavery is involved.” Echizen’s eyes narrowed in accusation at Tezuka, upon Sanada’s words. Tezuka ignored Echizen’s look, in favour of explaining everything. 

“Shiraishi was a former slave; he too covered his left arm with anything he could and spoke with revulsion of slavery. I’m willing to assume that Yukimura and their third accomplice were also slaves.” Tezuka reasoned. “I also believe the girls we met in the brothel were former slaves, since the robberies seem based around who was sleeping with them. Which means they all hold grudges against the nobles that got them stuck in the slavery business.”

Echizen looked at Tezuka. “It’s been two days since we last saw each other. You got all of that?” he asked, looking quite incredulous and a lot less scared. 

“Tezuka’s the best knight in the country.” defended Sanada, with a frown. 

Tezuka frowned. “I have no evidence. I have neither seen the brand on Shiraishi’s arm, nor confirmed if the girls are really the reason around the brothels. Neither do we have eyewitness evidence of their robbery of the jewels. I also do not know for sure where the jewels are. I do not even know for sure if Shiraishi, Yukimura and their unknown accomplice are committing the robberies. All I have are assumptions. And now I have more assumptions.” He bowed his head and got up from the table. “Thank you for your time, Echizen.”

Echizen’s eyes stared back at them and reached into the complimentary fruit bowl that the tavern always place, to throw an apple at Tezuka. “Fuji apples. They’re good for looking like you’re going to fall onto the floor and sleep for a century.” he said, with a shrug, as he turned back to his business.

Again, Echizen hated fruit. Why would he be suggesting that Tezuka eat the fruit? It didn’t feel so obvious this time, but Sanada took the apple from Tezuka’s hand, to take a bite out of. “He meant something with the apple, he hates fruits.” said Tezuka, frowning at Sanada eating the evidence. 

“The third person’s called Fuji.” said Sanada easily, as they left the tavern. “That was the last thing you mentioned to him.”

Tezuka just twitched at that obvious revelation, and pulled the apple out of Sanada’s hand to take a large bite. Sanada just snorted, and pulled it back for another bite. Evidently, Tezuka was more tired than he felt. 

(X)

It was midnight and reaching the cold that Tezuka was sort of grateful for. It made it easier to hide the bites and bruises that still hadn’t managed to fade over the course of the day. He felt utterly exhausted but he was still crouched outside the Kiraku and Saotome estates, watching alertly as the last light of the two houses shut off. 

Sanada tapped his shoulder, to get up and jump the gates to enter the sparse gardens on the small estates. “Couldn’t we just sneak inside and watch from there?”

“No, we’d disturb the servants and the nobles if we gave chase to them from inside the house. Besides, you’ve arrested Saotome’s son and almost stabbed Kiraku for their drunk-and-disorderly actions, I doubt they’d be partial to you coming into their homes.” Tezuka pointed out as he gripped the sides of the plaster and brick houses. 

Sanada just looked apprehensive as he looked up at the house and Tezuka frowned, as he started to ascend up, using his upper body strength. He didn’t have nearly as much strength as Sanada; if anyone had needed to be worried it was him. “Hurry up.” he whispered. They could escape the houses any time now. Of course, there was the risk that they were aiming for Kadowaki’s house today, but Tezuka doubted it.

“I...ah...” Sanada looked really quite hesitant as he gripped the wall and pulled himself up using the same route that Tezuka was using, his fingers digging into the plaster with more strength, causing slight pieces of plaster to fall and Sanada’s face to blanch. His eyes shut as he went up and Tezuka frowned. “Eyes open, otherwise you’ll fall.”

There was an almost inaudible grunt from the pale-faced Sanada, as he kept climbing, with eyes wide open. Tezuka reached the top quickly, and gave Sanada a hand up. As soon as Sanada set foot on the roof, his face only grew paler, as he concertedly avoided looking down. Tezuka pursed his lips. “You’re afraid of heights.” he said, quite clearly.

It was rather amusing that the nicknamed Emperor of Death on the battlefields, who’d once let himself in the path of a fleet of stampeding horses, was afraid of heights. 

“I’ve never needed to use heights before. You took the crumbly bridge route when we were in Samezuka, because you were lighter.” protested Sanada, as he looked away from the edge. “Forget it, I’ll cope.”

Tezuka pursed his lips, but reached forward to squeeze Sanada’s hand softly, in reassurance. “Perhaps you should watch from the ground, they may appear from th–”

His speech was interrupted, by the sound of soft coughing coming from the chimney. Both of them drew their swords as the brunet, Fuji, popped out of the chimney, covered in dust and blinked at them. “Hi.” he said, before popping straight back down the chimney. Tezuka immediately bolted up to the chimney to try and catch him, but he was sprayed with hot water.

Instantly, he cringed back, using his left arm as protection, which managed to protect the majority of his face, but incapacitated his sword hand, as he cringed and fell down at the sharp stings of pain burning through his clothes. It had been a bad idea to neglect his armour in favour of being lightweight.

Fuji pushed up and out of the chimney, leaping over Tezuka, and Sanada immediately gave chase to the brunet. Tezuka staggered back up, transferring his sword to his right hand, as he waited for the other two. He wasn’t the best in his right hand, but he was decent enough to defend against them. 

Yukimura popped out of the chimney with three throwing knives in Tezuka’s direction. Tezuka dodged all three and lunged forward to try and catch the other, but Yukimura flipped out of the way, evidently pushed by Shiraishi who came straight after Yukimura and deflected Tezuka’s sword, with his shortsword.

Yukimura immediately threw a few more knives at Tezuka and in order to dodge them, he was forced to unlock his grip with Shiraishi’s sword. Ignoring the pain, he switched the sword to his left hand, to fight off Shiraishi with more ease. 

Shiraishi’s movements were textbook perfection, with next to no creativity in them, which made it easy enough to block the other’s movements. Still, it was supremely impressive for a former slave who’d probably taught himself how to sword-fight. Tezuka would have been happy to engage Shiraishi in a straight-forward battle and he probably would have won, had it not been for the fact that Yukimura’s knife-supply seemed to be endless and that Yukimura was everywhere at once, which made it difficult for Tezuka to do anything but defend from every angle. 

A knife grazed his left arm, cutting it shallowly, at the same time he caught Shiraishi's face with his sword, but at the slight lowering of his defence block, Yukimura grabbed Shiraishi and they started hurtling across the roof at a speed that Tezuka hadn’t been expecting. Tezuka followed them instantly, using his own considerable speed to follow them both. The two thieves jumped between buildings with grace and Tezuka had to use all of the strength in his lower thighs to propel himself across the rather significant gaps between the houses in the area. 

He could see Sanada and Fuji in the distance, Sanada with his sword trying to dodge something that Tezuka couldn’t actually see from this distance. He knew that once the two thieves caught up with Fuji, they would probably disappear, which meant he had to run faster. He ignored the pain in his left arm and the burning in his legs as he pushed himself to the limit to attempt to grip the edge of Yukimura’s cape. 

Yukimura, noticing Tezuka’s efforts, somehow managed to shed the cape without slowing his pace, which forced Tezuka to dodge out of the way of the flying fabric that would block his way. his glasses were starting to fog from his internal heat and the cold outer world, but Tezuka refused to let it stop him, as they sped closer to Sanada. Sanada seemed to be dodging puffs of coloured dust, which didn’t make _any_ sense, what was in the dust to make Sanada so scared of them?

“Fuji, _scindons-nous_!” yelled Yukimura, as they drew closer and Tezuka frowned deeply, as Fuji smiled beatifically and a large plume of yellow smoke covered Tezuka’s eyesight. His eyes were watering and he felt like his hand and legs were no longer part of him, all filled with numbness and sleepiness. He fell to his knees and he attempted to shield himself from the yellow dust, as best as possible, trying to breathe as little as he could get away with. 

It felt like an eternity before he could open his eyes and see anything except yellow and feel anything except dust against his lungs. As he looked around, he saw Sanada collapsed on the roof and the thieves to be nowhere in sight. He hurried over to Sanada. When Tezuka placed a hand on Sanada’s shoulder, the other man rolled over, looking utterly drained. 

“They beat us.” said Sanada, looking furious. “In a fair fight.”

Tezuka frowned, as something occurred to him as he reviewed that beatific smile. “Fuji was the person I bumped into in that tavern on the first day of investigation...before I lost the flowers. He must have pick-pocketed me.”

Sanada growled angrily and thumped his head back against the roof of the house, his face paler than ever. “They’re arrogant for a reason, Tezuka. Fuji knew I was scared of heights, he already knew and he chose to throw the dust at me when we were in the areas that I was most likely to be irrationally worried about falling.” 

“Arrogance is never justified.” said Tezuka, coolly, as he picked up a bit of the yellow dust on the rooftops and collected it in his handkerchief. “We’ll catch them tomorrow because we’ll be ready for them.”

(X)

In the morning, when Tezuka’s arm was firmly bandaged by a worried Oishi and he had caught two precarious hours of rest, Tezuka sat in the laboratory next to an Inui who was already back to business, albeit with bandages everywhere. The yellow dust had been something that Inui hadn’t been able to identify on sight, which was why Inui was pottering around looking at old ancient books and staring at large bubbling pots of menacing substances. Even after Tezuka had described the effects on his vision and his movement, there was no real way to tell what it was instantly. 

It meant quite bit of a wait with Inui’s babbling about all of the gossip he’d ever known, but it was a little rest for Tezuka, whose arm was starting to throb again. Just as Tezuka started to feel sleep take him, lulled by Inui’s mostly monotonous voice, his sleep was disturbed by the sound of arguing from the corridor. They sounded like Sanada and Atobe and Tezuka forced himself to look more awake than he felt.

“So your proof of my father being involved is from a source whom you can’t talk about, who has a slave brand of a lion? That’s your proof that my father’s involved?” Atobe demanded as they strolled into the lab, both looking distinctly furious, though Sanada looked more tired than anything. 

“ _Everybody_ is convinced that he is involved. He just hasn’t been sighted, because your father knows how to cover his tracks.” said Sanada, looking wearily angry. 

Tezuka sighed. “It’s true.” he said, simply. 

Atobe looked a mixture between desperate and furious at Tezuka’s words, before he sighed and just looked resigned. “Fine. Let’s say he’s involved. What do you want me to do about it, ahn?”

“Get a warrant of arrest for him and the other nobles involved in the slavery ring.” said Tezuka, calmly. “Your requests for arrest are always completed with more haste by Kabaji. The evidence to provide a jury case are coming from our source and I’ve asked Kikumaru to go collect the eyewitnesses from the source.”

Atobe’s jaw tightened as his cold blue eyes scanned Tezuka for any signs of deceptions, before he sniffed. “Fine. But you owe me. For this and for the jewel descriptions.” he said, as he glared at Sanada. “You too, Sanada.”

Sanada nodded, though he looked quite mutinous about this favour, while Tezuka nodded easily. Atobe was fair about his requests, even if at times, they could be a little extravagant. 

Atobe left the room and Sanada took a seat next to Tezuka, with a slightly amused look about how deeply Inui had been involved in his work. The alchemist/librarian hadn’t even commented about the situation once. “I have the jewel descriptions. He even got sketches of the jewels for some of them, by asking Ohtori.” he said, passing Tezuka the sheets of the neat writing and description. 

“They look very similar to the jewels we saw on the three girls.” said Sanada, grimly, as Tezuka scanned over them. “It might be in our best interests to both collect the jewels from the girls and go to the Nursery to arrest the thieves now, in daylight.”

Tezuka shook his head. “We haven’t got enough proof.”

“No proof? They stole the jewels from Kiraku’s house and Saotome’s house yesterday, and we chased them across the rooftops. You have a wound from them and we have that dust from them.” Sanada pointed out, looking quite unimpressed. 

“Not enough.” said Tezuka, again. “You remember when Kite almost got tried as a witch by the crowd for being able to move too fast? It was clearly explained by many of our training guards that Kite hadn’t been using witchcraft, but they still wanted to kill him. The hatred for knights is high among the common people. The only way we can win this if we catch at least one of them in the act.” There was no love lost for nobles either. 

Sanada just scowled in response to that, and looked extremely weary. “There shouldn’t have been a slave ring involved with this...” he muttered, with a tired look. “I’ve been chasing up people about it all morning and everybody’s in as much denial as Atobe, or they’re lying, like Katsuo’s sister.”

Tezuka frowned. “Have you slept at all since the first day of the case?” he asked, softly, so Inui wouldn’t hear. 

“No.” murmured Sanada back, with an exhausted smile, “I’ll get my chance this afternoon. Kirihara said he’d take my training duties, so I’ll crash for some time inside the training grounds.”

Tezuka’s eyebrows pulled together as he slipped his arm around Sanada. “Take care of yourself.” he whispered, squeezing Sanada’s side, softly. 

Sanada just nodded, softly as they turned back to Inui, who was making slightly disturbing noises of excitement. “It’s a rare cactus from the otherlands.” explained the alchemist. “Ground up and mixed with zinc and sodium, which makes anyone who inhales it very lethargic” he jabbered, as he started to mix some foul substance together with the purple bubbling mess. Sanada tossed Tezuka an apprehensive look.

“It’s easily countered so it can’t affect you, beyond the effect of dust in your eyes.” said Inui, as the purple bubbling mess started to froth and turn slowly a neon blue. “You just have to drink this now and it’s effects will last for a week.” He handed Sanada and Tezuka a cup of the substance each, with a very wide smile. 

Sanada pursed his lips together as he stared at the liquid doubtfully. “On three?” asked Tezuka, determined to not look at it for too long, in fear of losing his nerve.

“Three, two one.” they said together, as they swallowed the substance. It took all of Tezuka’s efforts to not gag on the liquid or even outwardly react, beyond his eyes watering and bile rising up his throat a little. Sanada was sputtering a little and clawing at his neck, but his eyes were impressively dry. 

Inui just looked disappointed as Tezuka returned the cup to Inui and stood up with only a slight wobble for his troubles. “And we won’t be affected now?” asked Sanada, in a choked voice, as he too rose. 

“No.” said Inui, with a nod. “You’re safe now.”

(X)

The only house left this time was the Kadowaki residence, since the thieves had taken both jewels at the same time. Seeing as they had broken their pattern, Tezuka saw it as a sign that they were finally getting pressurized by he and Sanada’s actions, in a way that they felt that they needed to change their routine. It was only a small crack in their mask and may have initially looked like a bad thing, but it was good news. 

Still, it did mean that he and Sanada only had one night to catch the thieves and be able to fairly convict them. 

Honestly, as they had gotten more and more details from Kikumaru about the slave trade, Tezuka hadn’t wanted to arrest the thieves. The slave trade nobles were alleged to have done some truly awful things and Inui was approximating that at least a third of the city’s servants and prostitutes were taken from the slave trade run by the nobles. It had almost made Tezuka sick, more ill than the awful broth that Inui had made he and Sanada drink. 

But they had both committed offences, and while the offences of the nobles were great, the act of stealing was a still a crime and needed to be treated that way. 

Kadowaki was not someone who Sanada had angered, but Sanada had himself said that it was probably better for the two of them to catch them from outside, since their fighting techniques would require more room. Besides, the outside air was cooling on Tezuka’s skin as he waited. The thieves would not attempt the chimney this time around, but they had definitely seemed confident in the air, which meant that they would most likely swing up from the windows.

Tezuka took one side of the roof, and a paling Sanada took the other side, ignoring Tezuka’s requests to just watch from the ground and climb up when he was needed. Tezuka was fairly certain that Sanada was fighting off quite a bit of anxiety as he looked down at the large fall he had to make, but he was hiding it admirably. 

Tezuka smiled a little as he glanced back at Sanada’s back, before a sudden sound from his side disturbed him. He made sure he hid his head from line of sight if they looked directly up, but kept it also so he could see a little. There was just the slightest flash of blue hair, but that was enough for him. 

Sanada had also turned around upon hearing the sound and carefully shuffled over from his side, without removing himself from the crouch he was in. Their swords were already drawn, but Tezuka swung the helmet down over his face this time, to shield his eyes from the dust. 

As expected Yukimura was first to swing up onto the roof and looked only slightly surprised to see the knights, as he threw a knife at Tezuka’s face. Tezuka quickly deflected with his sword’s hilt, unwillingly to get injured so quickly. Sanada made to attack Yukimura, in one swift blow and Yukimura dodged away, elegantly. Yukimura was more the opponent that Sanada would be able to fight, so Tezuka let Sanada take the knife-thrower on.

Besides, he had enough to do with Shiraishi leaping up onto the roof as well, with the blond man’s shortsword ready. Tezuka instantly attacked him, refusing to defend like his usual style called for. He needed to disable Shiraishi fast so he could deal with Fuji. Speaking of Fuji, he couldn’t see the other man anywhere, and that put him on edge.

Stull, he couldn’t afford to take too much attention away from Shiraishi; the man was as fast as he was strong and combating him was not so easy, even with his textbook definition moves. “You move well.” said Shiraishi, admiringly, as Tezuka lunged and nicked Shiraishi’s arm, though not enough to cause him more than a little inconvenience. The scar on Shiraishi's face was well-bandaged and that made Tezuka think.

With a slight spin and a feint attack, he darted forward to slash at the bandages, merely cutting them away, instead of attempting to injure Shiraishi grievously. The bandages fell away to show a slave brand, as Tezuka had thought. He nodded, as he moved back to avoid Shiraishi's slightly more vicious sweeps. The other man’s face was torn with a mixture of fury and resignment. 

“Where were you caught?” Tezuka asked, as he ducked and rolled across the roof, to get behind Shiraishi. 

Shiraishi said nothing, as he used both hands to sweep at Tezuka’s feet. Tezuka stepped back quickly, and pinwheeled to avoid falling off the roof. Shiraishi looked quite triumphant as he stabbed forward, but Tezuka quickly jumped forward, and viciously snapped the flat of his sword against Shiraishi’s skull, as he kicked Shiraishi’s stomach. 

Shiraishi crumpled with the force from both blows, and Tezuka immediately pulled the cuffs from his belt and cuffed Shiraishi’s wrists and legs. “Sorry.” he said, as he sprung up and elbowed Fuji who was approaching from behind him while also kicking the shortsword off the roof.

Fuji grinned as he danced out of the way with a spin and threw a large pinch of the dust at Tezuka. Tezuka trusted Inui and lunged forward, ignoring the dust. Fuji looked a little surprised as Tezuka ignored the dust in the air, and he backflipped away from Tezuka’s sword with a little unease. 

“Argh!” he heard Sanada yell from the other side, and Tezuka’s eyes momentarily flicked over. Sanada’s knee had a knife in it, but he was still fighting with Yukimura, head-to-head. Tezuka frowned, and started to edge Fuji closer to the other battle, with slashes. Fuji tossed him an amused look, that spoke volumes about how he understood Tezuka’s plan, but was just playing along because he felt like it. 

“Yukimura! _Prenez Garde_!” yelled Fuji, as he tossed some dust towards Sanada, who likewise, barely flinched. Yukimura, alerted by Fuji’s shout, scowled, as he pulled away from Tezuka’s sword who came flashing towards him. 

“Kura! _Allons-y_!” he shouted, before noticing Shiraishi's state and looking horrified. 

“ _Laissez-moi! Allez, pour nos soeurs!_ ” called Shiraishi, and Yukimura grimly nodded, as he grabbed Fuji. Fuji threw the entire contents of his bag into the air, and even though Tezuka wasn’t affected by any other symptoms, the dust scratched at his lungs and he couldn’t see anything. He still fought against the silhouettes in the dust, but when he hit nothing, he waited for the dust to clear. 

The thieves were gone. Sanada’s knee was severely bleeding and Shiraishi was still cuffed to the chimney. They’d caught one of them in the act, at least. He walked over to Sanada, and placed Sanada’s arm over his shoulder, pulling him up with a little difficulty. Sanada winced and shook his head. “No, leave me here for now, Tezuka. Get Shiraishi and take him back to the castle. Send someone else after me.”

Tezuka reluctantly nodded. It was a good plan, but he was reluctant to leave Sanada here to bleed out. He unclipped his cloak and handed it to Sanada. “I’ll pull out the knife and you’ve got to tie this around your knee immediately and apply pressure.” said Tezuka, as if Sanada didn’t already know battlefield medics. 

Sanada just nodded, watching Tezuka’s hands close around the knife. With a nod, he pulled the knife out, frowning at the squelching sound of flesh and tendons crinkling. It was a serious wound that would take at least two months to heal, if there was no infection inside the wound. He squeezed Sanada’s hand, before getting up to get Shiraishi. The front of his tabard was covered in blood, but he still partially uncuffed Shiraishi. 

Shiraishi didn’t protest at all as Tezuka grabbed him. “I can walk myself.” said Shiraishi, with a small smile. “You don’t have to leave Sir Sanada here. I’ll help you get him down.”

Tezuka just gave him a look. “You’re a prisoner of the King, I don’t think so.”

Shiraishi just smiled as he stood up with some difficulty, considering his feet were cuffed together. “I told you to wait three days and then I’d tell you everything. My compatriots are off to do their jobs, and afterward they’re done, I’ll tell you everything and admit to it in a court of justice. I have no reason to want to see Sir Sanada bleed to death.”

Sanada gritted his teeth and shook his head. But Tezuka glanced at Shiraishi’s honest eyes and nodded. He leant down to uncuff Shiraishi's feet, but left Shiraishi's hands bound. “Take his left side.” he said, as he supported Sanada’s right side. “Getting him down is going to be difficult.”

Shiraishi hummed, as he cautiously took Sanada’s arm and placed it over his shoulder. “Well, not really. Just leave him to me and be ready to steady us both on the ground.”

Sanada scowled at Tezuka with a clear look of distrust at Shiraishi, but Tezuka just nodded, and swung down the house’s walls, his fingers scrambling a little against the plaster, in his haste to settle himself on the ground. He watched with an eagle eye as Shiraishi said something to Sanada that made Sanada’s eyes widen in terror. To Tezuka’s horror, Shiraishi just jumped off the building without any sort of plan. However, Tezuka blinked a little as a large bit of cloth projected upwards from Shiraishi’s back and the duo wobbled their way to the ground, at a fairly high speed.

He immediately steadied Sanada, whose eyes were watering in a mixture of terror and pain, but whose expression was still stubbornly stoic. Shiraishi scowled. “I’m sorry, I forgot, the weight difference would give us a harsher landing. I hope that the pain was not too great, Sir Sanada?”

Sanada just shook his head as Shiraishi steadied his other side and they slowly limped back towards the castle, in silence. 

They arrived at the gates as the sun started to rise and Sanada pulled Shiraishi away from his side, and pushed him into the middle of their trio. He was heavily leaning on Shiraishi's shoulder, but still bringing him in like a prisoner. The guards wordlessly let them in, staring in horror at Sanada’s bleeding leg and Shiraishi’s various cuts. 

“The infirmary, now.” said Tezuka, pulling them away from the dungeons, where Saada was leading them. “I’ll be cuffing you again once we get there Shiraishi, but Oishi should treat your cuts after he’d dealt with Sanada.”

Shiraishi nodded, looking grateful as they slowly limped up the stairs. Luckily, the infirmary was only on the second floor, and not on the top of the castle, like most of the living quarters. Tezuka pushed open the door with his injured arm and winced a little, but gave a slightly relieved nod at seeing Oishi on duty.

“Tezuka? Sanada? What happened to all of you?” asked Oishi, looking horrified, as he went to drag Sanada to one of the closest beds and forced him there, to treat him. Tezuka pulled up a closeby chair, and cuffed Shiraishi's leg around the chair, so that the only way Shiraishi could break free, would be by breaking a bone or by breaking the chair. 

“Speak. It’s the third day.” said Tezuka, coolly, as he took another chair and drew it up next to Shiraishi. 

Shiraishi was quiet as he adjusted himself in the chair. “It’s past dawn. Just give me a few minutes. I need to make sure...” His face looked extremely worried and concerned, as he glanced out of the window, at the orange sky. 

Tezuka tossed him a look, but up until then, Shiraishi had behaved, so he turned towards Sanada instead, as Oishi attacked the wound with leeches and green leaves that prevented infection. Sanada tossed Tezuka a weak smile and Tezuka smiled faintly, in return. It would be difficult to be on duty for two months without Sanada. 

Then again, as his shoulder twinged, he was reminded that he was equally liable to be kept out of action. His shoulder was less serious than Sanada’s leg, but he would be out of action for at least a month. The prospect was quite depressing and made Tezuka grimace in apprehension. 

“Are you ready?” he asked Shiraishi, whose eyes were slightly shut, with a wide smile on his face. 

“Ah.” said Shiraishi, his face disturbed slightly. “It started when I was around ten, when and my parents fell into great poverty as their farm ceased to produce grain. They had no choice but to sell everything, including me and my younger sister. We assumed we would be working as servants for the Lord at the mansion. We never imagined that we’d be sold to slavers by our Lord. They branded us and beat us, until we became obedient and pliant. Then they sold us both as prostitutes.” he said, evenly, as if the memories of the actions couldn’t even touch him anymore. 

“At the brothel, there were several people with the same stories. Seiichi and Syuusuke were two of those people and they wanted nothing more than to be free and get revenge on those who had trapped us there. I agreed with them, and we had the means to do it.” Shiraishi continued to explain, and this time Sanada and Oishi had fallen silent to listen, with slightly disgusted looks on their faces at his story. “It’s possible to stop being a prostitute if you pay your debt and interest, and pretty boys are very popular.” he said, with a dry look. 

“We paid the debt off a year ago, because of our popularity and gifts from generous patrons. but all of our sisters were nowhere near their goal. The longer you stay in the brothel, the higher your debt gets. We knew that we had to get them out quickly, so we used our flower growing talents to set up a nursery close to the city. but it didn’t bring as much money as we had hoped.” Shiraishi continued to narrate, looking miserable. 

Tezuka didn’t say anything, just continued to listen. Shiraishi sighed, as he tilted his head back against the head of the chair. “When you work as a flower seller, you hear things, you know? Things about Lords and slave trades and who’s involved. It only took a few loose lips for us to gain a standing in the underworld and discover exactly who’d created the slave industry in this country. And guess what, all of them were fucking our sisters.”

Shiraishi snorted, wryly, as his eyes fell to his laps. “Seiichi wanted to kill them and take their jewels to pay our sister’s debt. I told him that we couldn’t. Syuusuke and I wanted to, really. I would do it if I could get away with it. but I knew that the King would notice murders more easily than robberies. We would never have been able to raise enough money to get our sisters free. So we just robbed them dry.”

“Why give us any clues at all?” asked Sanada, from the bed. “The flowers, you talking to Tezuka?”

“Because we could.” said Shiraishi, coolly, before he laughed lightly. “No, that’s more Syuusuke’s answer. I did it because I wanted to be caught after we’d done it and lilies seemed elegant enough as a calling card. In the end, a crime’s a crime and we need to pay for what we did. Seiichi will not agree, but this is the truth. I also wanted the nobles to pay for their sins, which is why I tipped off Tezuka.”

Tezuka nodded, as he folded his arms into his chest. “Thank you for your time, Shiraishi. Will you be willing to repeat this at the trial?” 

Shiraishi nodded. “I’ll do it.” he said, with a nod. “Our sisters will be free, by now. Promise me that they’ll be able to live without repercussions? They can just live as Yumiko, Minoru and Yukari now? They didn’t know anything about the crimes, except what they guessed.”

Sanada nodded, from his place in the bed, where Tezuka hesitated. “I can promise that they will not be arrested for this, Shiraishi.” he said, placing his hand to his heart, in an oath.

“And where are Fuji and Yukimura, now?” asked Tezuka, moving his shoulder with a little discomfort. Shiraishi would know where they were. 

“They’ll be at the nursery. Packing their things. They plan to flee before you get there, so I’d hurry and send someone to catch them.” said Shiraishi, as he leant back against the chair, with a goofy smile on his smile. “Ahh, Yukari gets to live. I could not be happier.”

Tezuka could not truly call them criminals, in the end. He would have done the same had it been his loved ones. “Ah.” he said, with a tired sigh. Perhaps Sanada was right, perhaps they were getting too old for this.

OWARI


	2. <(￣︶￣)>

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue

“You’re sure about this?” asked Tezuka, from where he took a seat inside the newly reopened 201 Nursery. The sun trickled in through the windows and there was a pleasant smell through the air, from the cut flowers that decorated the store. He nursed the cup of warm tea in his hands, rolling his sleeves up. 

“I’m sure.” said Shiraishi, with a wide smile. “I’ve had enough injuries and vaulting over buildings and fighting for a lifetime. I want to be normal for a bit. So I thank you for your offer, Sir Tezuka, but I’d rather not be a knight.”

“Agreed.” said Fuji, softly, from where he was helping Minoru carry in a table. “Life is much more worth living. I want to spend some time with Yumiko without having to worry about constant death looming over me.”

Yukimura shrugged, casually, as he flicked back his long hair. “A knight sounds fun, but honestly, you lot have such awful fighting skills, it would be boring.” Sanada glared at Yukimura, quite fiercely, and Yukimura covered his mouth to snicker quietly into it. “Sorry, sorry. No, I don’t want to tempt myself to put myself in a position of power like that. We were former slaves and we achieved that much chaos in the underworld and the city. With the King’s support...should I act too harshly, it would reverberate.” His face turned colder and he looked down at his lap.

Tezuka nodded, in acceptance. He could understand that. Honestly, he was also pleasantly surprised by how much the three of them wanted justice to occur. 

“On the other hand, feel free to recruit me into the knights. I’d beat you all up anytime!” said Minoru, with a slightly evil grin, as she dusted off her hands and flexed her muscles. For someone who looked so delicate and pale, she didn’t act like it. 

“Kicking men in their private parts isn’t always going to work as a substitute for skill.” said Fuji, sipping the tea that Shiraishi handed him, with a slightly amused smile on his face. Sanada winced slightly and Tezuka had to work his hardest to not smile at the peaceful scene. 

He was glad that the jury sentence had been such a short time in prison for the thieves. The three men had spent less than a year inside, before they were released to go back to their daily lives, while the nobles who had been involved in the slave ring had all been convicted to life in prison, banishment or death. 

Tezuka was proud of Atobe in many ways, for dealing with that mess while he and Sanada had been healing up. The headstrong young noble had been one of the fiercest advocates for his own father’s death. In the end, the vast majority of the nobles involved were banished, including Atobe’s father, but it took a lot of inner strength to convict the father that Atobe had so proudly defended. 

Echizen had managed to profit off the investigations, by selling his information to Atobe with a seasoned ease that didn’t belie his age. Along the way, he’d become a guild-leader of records, because the previous leader was also involved in the slavery route, and Tezuka was sure that was a planned thing on the younger boy’s behalf. He wondered how far the other would go, and decided that he probably didn’t want to think too hard about how Echizen would probably be able to con his way into becoming the next King. 

Yumiko popped her head in through the door to stare at everyone sitting down, with a disapproving look that sent shivers down Tezuka’s spine. Fuji Yumiko was one scary woman. “I thought we were setting up today?”

“We’re having a tea-break for our guests.” said Fuji, with delight, waving her over. “It’s what rich people do.”

“We’re hardly rich.” protested Yukari, as she trailed in and popped herself in Shiraishi’s lap. 

Yukimura’s smirk was just a little too large for Tezuka’s liking. “Yukimura...” he warned, with a slight glare. Had they taken someone’s else jewels?

“Tezuka.” said Yukimura evenly, meeting Tezuka’s glare with a smile. “It’s honest money, before you jump to assumptions. The Oshitari family have actually already asked to have permanent partnership with them. We’ll provide them flowers daily and they’ll pay us a large amount every month. So you see, we are already quite rich.”

Sanada’s eyebrows rose. “You’re allying with the Oshitari family after what they did?”

“Lord Oshitari has been duly banished and they seem to hold no grudge against us.” said Shiraishi, with a cool nod. “Of course, we’ll be taking care with this endeavour, there’s every chance they could be holding a grudge and are attempting to secretly topple us, but that is a little evidence for that, as of now.”

It seemed like an unwise decision, but the old addendum of keeping enemies closer than friends seemed apt. “If there is anything amiss, don’t forget to contact Echizen, he’ll fix it.” said Tezuka, as he finished his tea and placed the cup on the table. 

The smiles of the three men became a little more fixed at the mention of his name. “We’ll be sure to.” said Fuji, delicately. Sanada tossed Tezuka an amused glance and Tezuka just tilted his head slightly. He understood their annoyance, Echizen had been a key part to why they had been imprisoned. Still, they seemed to hold nothing against Tezuka and Sanada for the actual act of arresting them. Were they just keeping Sanada and Tezuka close like they were with the Oshitaris, or not?

Tezuka’s eyes flickered up to Yumiko’s, who’d swatted Fuji around the head for looking too scary and how Minoru had poked Shiraishi’s cheeks to make Shiraishi soften a little, and Tezuka mused that it probably wasn’t worth thinking about. They weren’t bad people. Just cunning. If he tried to analyse whether they liked him or not, he would go around in circles. 

“In any case, we won’t delay your opening any further.” said Tezuka, rising from his chair as Sanada placed his cup down. “If you ever change your mind about being a knight, there’s always room. Even for you, Minoru.” he said, addressing Yukimura’s sister, who nodded, fiercely. 

“Good luck with your business.” said Sanada, with a nod, as he took his cane from the side of the table where it was propped up, and stood as well “We’ll be back sometime soon, most likely for a spar.” he said, fixing a look to Yukimura, who grinned in anticipation. 

Yukari grinned and stood up tall, with a grateful courtesy. “Thank you for coming Sir Sanada, Sir Tezuka. You’re welcome here at any time, you know that.”

Tezuka nodded as he and Sanada left the idyllic shop and out into the open air. They wandered a little while into the road, Sanada leaning heavily on his cane to walk. His knee injury still was on the mend, and while Tezuka could now move his shoulder without crippling pain from the burns, he was in no condition to be fighting. 

“Do you ever wonder whether becoming a knight was the wrong decision?” asked Tezuka, quietly, as they continued to walk. Their horses were back in the castle, since it was extremely difficult for Sanada to mount horses any more. 

Sanada shook his head. “The injuries are worth the lives we’ve saved. Besides...I wouldn’t have met you without it.” he said, softly. “I wouldn’t have found such a close friend and lover.” He was definitely turning a little red there and Tezuka let a small smile reach his face.

“Sometimes I regret it.” Tezuka murmured, “Especially when so many people hate us for our position. But in the end, this is what we were meant to do and I will continue doing it, with you.”

Sanada smiled, easily, with a light humour in his dark eyes. “We’re getting older.”

“Then I’ll do it for as long as I can.” said Tezuka, sternly. “You’d better keep up.”

“ _Always_.” said Sanada, fiercely and Tezuka could not have loved him more.


End file.
